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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27969959">The Upgrade Clause</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/fyredancer/pseuds/fyredancer'>fyredancer</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Chinese Actor RPF, 陈情令 | The Untamed (TV) RPF</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Blow Jobs, Happy Ending, Love Bites, M/M, Mutual Pining, Non-Famous Xiao Zhan | Sean, Sex Talk, Sugar dating</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 10:28:48</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>40,597</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27969959</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/fyredancer/pseuds/fyredancer</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Xiao Zhan is in desperate need of money, and his friend has been urging him to turn to sugar dating to bridge the gap. If he’s going to keep his business going, the last thing he would have thought he’d turn to is the only thing that’s going to get him what he needs.</p><p>Wang Yibo is in need of a date without strings attached for high profile events, and he doesn’t have the time or inclination to go courting. His assistant tips him off to sugar dating as a quick way to find someone with no questions asked.</p><p>When they meet, they don’t exactly get off to a great start. But each of them finds themselves hoping for more than what the confines of a sugar-dating relationship can allow.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Wang Yi Bo/Xiao Zhan | Sean</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>343</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>1082</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. chapter one</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/beeswaxing/gifts">beeswaxing</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Come with me on a journey to a homophobia-free world where idols and celebrities are not only allowed to date and openly have relationships; it’s expected, in order to demonstrate to their fans they’re the kind of person who has actual dating potential.</p><p>This story is dedicated to my dear beeswaxing and our mutual love of BJYX! I’m a little late for her birthday, but I hope she won’t mind. I hope you enjoy it! I didn’t quite manage to hit all the sugar baby highlights because they were very bad at it. I should give myself a do-over.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“So basically,” Xiao Zhan announced to the table at large. “I’m fucked.”</p><p>He slumped and let his head fall into his hands and let out a distinctly unamused titter.</p><p>Beside him, Wang Zhuocheng gave his shoulder a bracing clap. “Not true. If you were getting fucked, maybe you could be getting paid for it, and you’d have more money.”</p><p>Xiao Zhan’s face contorted, and he lifted his head out of his hands with a glare. “You are the worst friend!” he proclaimed.</p><p>“Aw, you’re only saying that because I’m hella broke too,” Wang Zhuocheng said. He raised his beer in Xiao Zhan’s direction.</p><p>“Are you sure, A-Zhan?” Xuan Lu pressed. “This can’t be it for the company.”</p><p>It was Tuesday, and Xiao Zhan had allowed himself to be persuaded to have a few drinks with Xuan Lu and their friends Wang Zhuocheng and Ji Li to distract himself from the cliff he’d found himself on. He wasn’t much of a drinker, let alone a weekday drinker, but sometimes a man needed a distraction and being sober wouldn’t cut it.</p><p>Xiao Zhan sat back in his chair and sighed. “I’ve done the numbers as many times as I can make myself,” he said. “They’re not adding up. We’re in the red and doing the numbers yet again…is just depressing.”</p><p>“What about a loan?” Ji Li asked from across the table. He picked at the label on his beer bottle, leaning forward.</p><p>“Don’t qualify.” Xiao Zhan ran his hands through his hair, messing it up. He was overdue for a haircut again, not like he had the money to afford one. And he couldn’t even afford a trip back to Chongqing to have his mother trim it for him. Speaking of parents… “And I’m not asking my parents for money; they already spent enough on putting me through college.”</p><p>By all rights, he ought to be at the point in his career where he was able to start supporting them so that they could enjoy a comfortable retirement. Instead, he’d quit the design firm where his star had been rising because that same firm kept sidelining Xuan Lu even though she was a vital part of the design team they had both worked on.</p><p>“I wasn’t going to say anything about that,” Xuan Lu said so quietly Xiao Zhan shrank into himself. He knew Lulu felt guilty even though he’d assured her many times it wasn’t her fault.</p><p>He’d stood up for an injustice. She had come with him. She’d followed him as he started his company, and Xiao Zhan would bear the responsibility for that.</p><p>He sighed again and pulled his phone out of his pocket, spinning it on the table before trapping it with a finger. For the twelfth time that day, he turned it on and opened the sugar baby app that he’d downloaded the previous week.</p><p>He had been opening and closing it so many times he could see the silly fluffed-out cloud logo with its glittering sugary sprinkles even in his mind’s eye.</p><p>In the chair next to him, Wang Zhuocheng straightened. “Is that what I think it is?”</p><p>“Don’t,” Xiao Zhan complained, holding his phone out of Zhuocheng’s reach and turning it off again.</p><p>Being a sugar baby was something that would never have crossed his mind in a million years if he weren’t so strapped for cash. But it wasn’t only himself he had to think about, even as he was down to his last case of cheap instant noodles. It was Xuan Lu’s paycheck too.</p><p>Xiao Zhan met Ji Li’s eyes from across the table and his friend gave him a nod, lips upturned in sympathy.</p><p>It was Ji Li who’d tipped him off to the app to begin with, giving him the name of the most reputable service. He could meet up with someone, give them his time, and they would pay him.</p><p>It didn’t have to be anything, Xiao Zhan kept reminding himself. There were contracts, and varying service levels. A sugar baby only did what they were comfortable with. It didn’t even have to involve hand-holding if Xiao Zhan didn’t want that.</p><p>The prospect that there were lonely rich people out there who would even just pay for his time to sit and talk with them made Xiao Zhan uncomfortable.</p><p>But at the end of the day, his finances were fucked. He needed money, and sugar daddies had it. Sugar mommas, too, but Xiao Zhan squirmed inside at the thought. He didn’t examine too closely why he would prefer to take money from a man. He supposed he’d feel like way more of a gigolo if it was a woman paying for his time.</p><p>“Are you going to do it?” Ji Li asked.</p><p>“Do what? A-Zhan…I don’t want you doing anything sketchy,” Xuan Lu said.</p><p>“It’s not sketchy. It’s perfectly legitimate,” Xiao Zhan said, defensive. He’d only read through the contract five or six times. Something in him was settling into the thought. It would be the easiest way to make money short of outright selling his body for sex.</p><p>That was where the line was for Xiao Zhan.</p><p>“I don’t have to do anything I don’t want to,” Xiao Zhan assured his friends, and himself.</p><p>“All right, then let us help you set up your profile,” Zhuocheng said, reaching for his phone.</p><p>“What? No way?” Xiao Zhan clutched it defensively to his chest. “There’s no way I’m letting you near this, Chengcheng; do you think I’m crazy?”</p><p>Zhuocheng smirked at him and lifted an eyebrow. “Have you ever set up a dating profile before?”</p><p>Xiao Zhan blinked at him. “Well, no, but…”</p><p>“Besides,” Xuan Lu said. “We’ll be more objective about playing up your good qualities.”</p><p>Xiao Zhan turned a betrayed look on her. “Lulu,” he said, half whining. “Not you too.”</p><p>Xuan Lu gave him a sunny smile and reached for his phone. “Do you even have an attractive selfie in your gallery? I bet we’ll need to take a new one.”</p><p>Xiao Zhan groaned but handed his phone over. “Isn’t it just like setting up any other social media profile?”</p><p>All three of his friends’ heads lifted and they gave him a collective look.</p><p>“Judgmental stares were neither asked for, nor deserved,” he told them in a lofty tone.</p><p>“You’ve never even used a dating app,” Ji Li said. “You need our help for this if you’re going to start a sugar baby profile.”</p><p>“Yes, you’re way too modest,” Xuan Lu told him. “Zhoucheng. Sex up his hair for the camera.”</p><p>Xiao Zhan lifted his hands in a martial defense pose. “Zhuocheng. You’re not getting near me.”</p><p>“There’s three of us and one of you,” Zhuocheng replied, merciless. “Hold still and accept our help.”</p><p>It wasn’t without a great deal of grumbling, but by the time he’d finished his beer, Xiao Zhan had some rather attractive bar-lighting photos, a brand new Sugar Rush profile that featured his new Xuan Lu approved selfie, a pic of him cuddling Jianguo from his gallery reserves, another that Xuan Lu dug up and deemed too cute for words, and a bio and his likes/dislikes sections that he hadn’t been allowed a single word of input. He scanned over the entire thing before the final press of the button that would make the profile go live to the site.</p><p>Xiao Zhan had to admit that his friends had done a fantastic job. Not a single word of it was untruth, but it had highlighted all his best points in such a way to make him very cute and appealing. Not a word of mention on his workaholic tendencies, the way he looked like hell after a sixteen-hour day, his habit of being too accommodating, deferential to a fault, indecisive when it came to most non work-related matters, or his fairly pitiful self-esteem. That could only be a good thing, he decided, and hit save before the lurch of his stomach could convince him that the profile he was putting out there was too good to be true and not enough like the real thing.</p><p>“I wanted to include something about how pictures don’t do him justice,” Ji Li said. “But there’s no way to slip that in there without coming across conceited as hell.”</p><p>“What? No way!” Xiao Zhan said, aghast. He pocketed his phone and swore he wasn’t going to let another one of them near it in case they tried to make his Sugar Rush profile even more absurdly flattering.</p><p>It was bad enough he already had the feeling he was trying to lure people under false pretenses.</p><p>“Apparently mirrors are no good, either,” Xuan Lu replied, wrinkling her nose right at him.</p><p>Xiao Zhan shook his head and raked a hand through his hair. He’d finished his beer and wasn’t going to have another. “If that were true, I’d have had way more offers by my age,” he replied. He bit his lip. That made him sound sad.</p><p>Ji Li and Xuan Lu were exchanging significant eye contact.</p><p>“Oblivious, too,” Zhuocheng said for them.</p><p>“Your profile looks good, Zhanzhan,” Xuan Lu said. She gave him an encouraging smile.</p><p>“Yeah, if I had money, I’d sugar daddy the shit out of you,” Wang Zhuocheng said.</p><p>“Ugh, don’t be gross,” Xiao Zhan complained, his whole face screwing up. “It’s like hearing my brother wants to hit on me.”</p><p>His friends just laughed.</p><p>“Come now, if your brother had a wad of cash, you’d probably let him sugar daddy you a little. Holding hands, maybe,” Ji Li said.</p><p>Xiao Zhan growled. “All right, that’s enough abuse for the night. It’s getting late.” He was trying not to think about the physical section of the profile that he’d set up. It was a relief, at least, that the app seemed to rely heavily on consent and he was able to make physical interactions conditional. He had set his to ‘depends on the person’ as well as some other more refined options including ‘open to discussion/negotiation.’ </p><p>It wasn’t sex work, and the app had been very clear on that. Any physical contact whatsoever was considered to be between Xiao Zhan and his…sugar daddy.</p><p>“And we have work tomorrow,” Xuan Lu said. Her face froze. “Don’t we?”</p><p>“We do for now,” Xiao Zhan replied. He patted the table twice and stood up. “It’ll be all right, Lulu. We’ll figure this out.”</p><p>“I could register on Sugar Rush—” she began.</p><p>“Don’t you dare!” Xiao Zhan gave her the fiercest glare he could muster. It always fell short because Xuan Lu only giggled at him. “This is my responsibility. I’ll take care of it.”</p><p>Somehow, he told himself. Pinning his hopes on someone finding him attractive enough on an app to pay money for his time seemed way too precarious to count on.</p><p>He wondered if he could take up a second job doing delivery. Or working at a boba shop. Maybe a florist counter. Bartender? He was still young; he could learn whatever skill set he needed.</p><p>He turned his phone off, slid it into his pocket, and tried to forget about it. He would need to come up with some practical solutions. It wasn’t like a man was going to drop into the app and sweep him out of his financial hardships.</p><p>Xiao Zhan had learned a long time ago the only person he could count on was himself.</p>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>***</p>
</div>“I can’t believe this! I can’t count on anyone around here,” Yibo fumed, tossing his work phone across his manager’s desk with a clatter.<p>She trapped it with a finger to stop it from spinning, pushed up from her desk and stood, and gave him an icy, unimpressed stare. “It’s hardly my fault you’re a cold fish who refuses to date,” she replied. “You’ve got Jin Yu Ling’s help to figure this out by the weekend. Do <i>not</i> show up to the gala without a date or you’ll be hearing from Du Hua after she hears it from the gossip mags.”</p><p>“And the trending topics,” Jin Yu Ling added, and withered when Yibo turned his glare on her.</p><p>Yibo raked his hair back with a quick, pissed off gesture, uncaring about how he disordered it now that the shoot was over.</p><p>It was stupid that he was not only expected but required to bring a date to all of c-ent’s high profile events. <em>If you’re not pleasant enough for a partner, how could you be pleasing to the public,</em> ran the oft-repeated saying. It put Yibo in something of a bind once he hit eighteen and was considered old enough to date. For the past few years, he’d skirted around that by taking Cheng Xiao to all the events he, or she, were required to attend. She was a sister idol at his company and they were like siblings. Very competitive, very snarky siblings.</p><p>The problem with their arrangement was that it had been conditional from the start. Cheng Xiao had finally started dating for real and while he wished her much joy of it, she could have at least honored this latest commitment to attend a gala together before breaking it off.</p><p>“I have an idea,” Jin Yu Ling told him.</p><p>“Forget it. I’m not hiring an escort,” Yibo snapped. Even with a strict non-disclosure agreement, he wasn’t going to bring someone on who got paid for sex.</p><p>Jin Yu Ling dimpled. “This isn’t that,” she replied. “Have you heard of Sugar Rush? It’s an app to connect sugar daddies with sugar babies.”</p><p>Yibo glared at her and flattened his mouth. He kept giving her the stink eye until she flushed and backed out of the room.</p><p>He walked over to his manager’s vacated desk and picked up his phone with a sigh. It wasn’t like he had a lot of options, but wasn’t picking up a sugar baby basically the same thing?</p><p>Curious, he did a search and received a flood of results he wasn’t sure he wanted to deal with. He looked up Sugar Rush instead and was surprised to see it was highly rated. It seemed more reputable than he’d first been thinking.</p><p><i>Options ranging from no-contact companionship to open to negotiation</i>, Yibo read. He guessed that meant negotiating for more intimate things. Everyone had a price, he supposed.</p><p>He sighed again and downloaded the app. His ears had to be turning red. This was the most ridiculous idea he’d ever entertained, and he’d been in the business nearly ten years so he had been pitched some truly embarrassing spiels.</p><p>He scrolled through the most recently posted profiles. There was a mix of men and women. He should go with a man, he thought absently, since the public had seen him ‘date’ Cheng Xiao for years even if few people had believed it was real. He ought to show the public he didn’t discriminate between genders, so long as he had to stage a date for appearances.</p><p><i>Ugh</i>, Yibo caught himself thinking like he was actually going to move forward with this. How could he entrust himself to a complete stranger?</p><p><i>Not like it’s real</i>, he reminded himself. It would be no more genuine than what he’d done with Cheng Xiao, though at least with her he’d had the ease of familiarity.</p><p>He wasn’t the cold fish his manager accused him of being. Yibo was awkward, and very reserved, and opened up slowly to any new people or situations. It didn’t mean he didn’t feel things or want things. He had never met anyone who made him desire more, though. Given he worked in the rapid-fire entertainment business, it was unlikely he would, if he hadn’t so far.</p><p>As he pondered, his finger kept idly scrolling. All of the options looking boring or were openly in it for the money and not quite attractive enough to warrant a second glance. Yibo wasn’t shallow, exactly; he was realistic. As China’s third most attractive man he was expected to appear in public with someone who came somewhere close to him on the good-looking scale.</p><p>Yibo slumped and kept scrolling. Maybe a miracle star would come to light.</p><p>He went past another few—too fake, doctored photo, sexuality incompatible—and his eye caught on a photo of a smiling young man with one arm draped over the back of a chair, the other cradling a half empty beer with its label turned away from the camera. His eyes were crinkled up in a genuine smile that seemed aimed straight up at Yibo.</p><p>“Xiao Zhan,” Yibo read his name aloud. He clicked into his profile to read more, half expecting to be just as disappointed as he had been by the others.</p><p>This one was cute. He’d listed a personal motto that managed to be sweet and earnest at the same time, about doing his best and always being mindful of others. If he was being honest about his reason for listing his profile on Sugar Rush, he was doing it to support his fledgling graphic design business. His other photos were engaging and he had an adorable smile. One of the other photos even looked like a candid. He had a cat, and Yibo not only adored cats but thought it was a sign of excellent character to own one.</p><p>Yibo wasn’t turned off by any aspect of his profile.</p><p>Before he could second guess himself, he slipped into his manager’s chair and began to build his own profile on the app. He stuck to the bare minimum and his answers were straightforward and blunt. He was in entertainment, private message for details. He used the obvious fake name option and said so in his profile, directing inquiries to private message for details. He used a cropped photo of his folded hands from a recent shoot that hadn’t been published yet. He left his motto as a simple “work hard, play harder” but was honest about his hobbies and interests. He loved cats and dogs, currently had neither, wanted both, and was often compared personality wise to cats.</p><p>Taking a deep breath, he published his profile and slumped in his manager’s chair. Even if he requested a match with Xiao Zhan, there was no guarantee he’d accept.</p><p>There was definitely no certainty he’d want to agree to be Yibo’s date even if he did accept the match. Nothing about that earnest, genuine profile told Yibo he was any kind of fame-chaser.</p><p>Yibo wondered if he could ask Cheng Xiao to prevail on any of her idol sisters to take pity on him and go to the gala with him. He scratched that thought out in the next second. All of them would be attending, too, and they’d have secured their own dates well in advance.</p><p>Too bad the company didn’t run its own dating service, Yibo mused with a moody frown.</p><p>He spun his phone around once, twice, and picked it up in the middle of a gyration, holding it up and navigating through three screens to find Xiao Zhan’s profile again.</p><p>“Worth a try,” he told himself, but did not allow hope to enter his heart.</p><p>He hit <i>request match</i> and pocketed his phone.</p><p>He still had seventy-two hours to find some other options if this last-minute gambit led nowhere. Yibo got up and set out in search of Jin Yu Ling.</p><p>If this actually worked, he supposed he’d owe her flowers. Maybe a pay rise.</p>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>***</p>
</div>It had been another twelve-hour day where Xiao Zhan had plowed determinedly through piles of work, too busy to even check his phone during the day.<p>He was really sweating over the sheer amount of projects that had to get done in order to turn some kind of profit. In addition to that, he was responding to bid solicitations and searching for all the opportunities he could put their name in for. He had enough to keep him occupied for a sixteen-hour day, but Xuan Lu wouldn’t let him work those anymore. She dragged him out when she left and locked the door, and that was when he checked his phone and squeaked.</p><p>“What? What is it?” Xuan Lu demanded.</p><p>“I have a match!” Xiao Zhan said, staring at his phone like the notification would disappear. He hadn’t expected a ping so soon.</p><p>He opened the notification, which showed him the guy’s profile. He’d set himself to match only to men, even though he’d experienced a pang at cutting himself off from an entire stream of potential matches.</p><p>Everything was blunt, short, and to the point. Fake name and profile, both directing him to the private messaging system for further inquiries. The only photo was a pair of hands, though they were incredible, beautifully shaped hands from the well-tended nail beds to the knobs of his wrists.</p><p>He was either famous or he had a homely face, Xiao Zhan decided. Possibly both! A businessman could be famous but not good-looking.</p><p>“Let’s go to the corner café,” Xuan Lu suggested. “Let me and Zhuocheng look this over before you accept the match.”</p><p>“Sure.” Xiao Zhan capitulated with a nod. At his age, he hardly considered himself naïve, but it was obvious she and Zhuocheng had way more experience in this arena. Even online dating was more comparable, and they had both done it. Xiao Zhan hadn’t.</p><p>He got his usual iced coffee and settled into a booth seat tucked in by the wall, handing his phone over to Zhuocheng who wore an atypical scowl as he looked the match over.</p><p>“It’s very sparse,” Xiao Zhan said. “There’s nothing really personal at all.”</p><p>“That’s pretty common when it’s someone famous,” Lulu replied.</p><p>“Really?” Xiao Zhan’s head swung up and uneasiness made itself a home in the pit of his stomach. He wasn’t sure how he felt about being a sugar baby for someone famous. Wouldn’t it be a problem if people found out?</p><p>Dating idols was one thing. The public expected idols to prove they were appealing enough to be in relationships by actually dating around. Someone who had to pay for a date, though…that wasn’t an agreeable person.</p><p>“Some of them are so absorbed in their work it’s harder to find people to date,” Zhuocheng commented. He passed Xiao Zhan’s phone back over. “I agree with Lulu. This is probably a celebrity.”</p><p>“Should I try it out?” Xiao Zhan shrank down in his seat and reached for his coffee, hoping the strong brew wouldn’t sour his stomach even further.</p><p>“Definitely,” Zhuocheng said, giving him a wink. “He’s got money for sure. What’s the worst that could happen?”</p><p>“Well, I could fall in love,” Xiao Zhan deadpanned.</p><p>Xuan Lu chuckled. Xiao Zhan wavered over it a few seconds longer and hit match.</p><p><i>I hope he’s nice</i>, he thought wistfully as he slipped his phone back into his pocket and tried to forget about it.</p><p>Of course, Xiao Zhan knew he had to have realistic expectations. A person probably wouldn’t be using a service to pay people for companionship if they had a great personality.</p>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>***</p>
</div>Wang Yibo’s phone buzzed as he passed through airport security. He ignored it as he and Jin Yu Ling swept through the terminal. They were borderline late; his plane had already started boarding, and he could only get away with cutting it so close because he had no luggage to check. The attendant who had checked him in had tried to scold him and he’d brushed it off with a wave and a smile as usual. He was a veteran flyer and he knew exactly what he could get away with.<p>He didn’t check his phone again until he was seated and switching his phone to airplane mode.</p><p>When he turned the screen on, he stared at the notification for a moment before swiping it open.</p><p>“Oh, is that—” Yu Ling began, leaning on his shoulder.</p><p>Yibo gave her an irritated look and she sat back, aiming an impish smile his way.</p><p>“You installed it, huh?” she asked, folding her arms and raising her chin.</p><p>Yibo sighed and settled deeper into his seat. He buckled his belt before he turned his attention back to the Sugar Rush profile he’d opened with Xiao Zhan’s acceptance of the match.</p><p>“This doesn’t exempt you from trying to find someone for Friday,” he said. “This guy might not work out.”</p><p>Yu Ling brightened. “Oh, it’s a guy? That would play great for demographics. You haven’t publicly dated a guy yet, have you? It was just that one BL drama and that hardly counts…”</p><p>“That was one of my best dramas,” Yibo pointed out, scowling at her.</p><p>“Yeah, true, but it’s not the same as openly dating.” Yu Ling seemed contented to let it drop, pulling out one of her many fashion magazines and drawing the shade of her window seat to shut it most of the way.</p><p>“Hm.” Yibo held his phone in his hands and regarded the match acceptance without blinking. He switched his phone over to airplane mode and turned the screen off. He knew the next step was sending Xiao Zhan a message to gauge his interest—and availability—but it would take him more than thirty seconds to compose an opening overture. From the way the engines were powering up they were about to leave the gate.</p><p>He thought about borrowing one of Yu Ling’s fashion magazines but settled back into his seat for a nap. It wasn’t that long of a flight. If he browsed, he would want to buy, and if he had to enable wireless to hook up to the ’net to make purchases he would only sit there staring at that match acceptance.</p><p>Yibo was anonymous for now, but once he met with the guy, his match would know who Yibo was. He had no idea how he’d be received and that was uncertain territory for him. Yibo preferred to control his entry into new situations as much as humanly possible.</p><p>Still, he needed a date for the gala and he suspected that his inability to find one on short notice wouldn’t be tolerated by his company’s upper management. Du Hua had a few hard and fast rules and showing up for events was one. Doing it in a manner acceptable to the public—in other words, with an attractive, decorous date on one’s arm—was another requirement.</p><p>Yibo wanted to groan and bang his head against the headrest. Why did Cheng Xiao have to go and catch feelings for that guy? They’d had such a good arrangement over the past few years.</p><p>He fell into an uneasy sleep and dreamed he was running up a staircase that never ended. He had an appointment and he had to get to the top, but the stairs kept unfolding under him like a never-ending treadmill.</p><p>By the time he got home, it was after midnight. Yibo spent most of his taxi ride composing his opening message to Xiao Zhan and in the end, settled for short and simple.</p><p>
  <em>Hello. Thank you for accepting my match.</em>
</p><p>The plain, unadorned words stared up at him. Yibo pressed send. A blank feeling settled over him like a curtain. The whole thing was so empty. He might as well be sending a message in a bottle out to sea. What were the odds it would end in a favorable outcome for him?</p><p>Xiao Zhan looked beautiful, personable, and he’d probably received dozens of match requests. Why should he accept the overtures of an anonymous profile?</p><p>Yibo woke late the next morning. It was one of his rare free days, and he hadn’t bothered to set an alarm. When he reached for his phone to check the time, he was surprised to find messages not only from his manager and assistant, but from the Sugar Rush app as well.</p><p>Xiao Zhan had responded to his message.</p><p>He got up and made himself coffee first, standing around in his yoga pants and bare feet and chest in the huge, state of the art kitchen that he had little cause to use for anything but re-heating takeout. He opened up the app, chiding himself for the apprehension that swirled through his stomach.</p><p>
  <em>Hello, good morning! This is Xiao Zhan. Wow, were you up late or working late?</em>
</p><p>Yibo tipped his head to one side at the unexpected friendliness of the response.</p><p><em>I had a late flight back to Beijing,</em> he replies. <em>For work.</em></p><p>
  <em>Then I hope everything went well and you’ve returned home safely.</em>
</p><p>Yibo knew he shouldn’t read too much into it, but the quick response and the sentiment gave him a warm feeling. Given the speed of the responses he felt like he had Xiao Zhan’s full attention, too. <em>I have, thank you.</em></p><p>He hesitated over continuing in further detail.</p><p><em>May I ask who I have the honor of speaking with?</em> There was a long pause before Xiao Zhan added, <em>Your profile says I can ask in a private message.</em></p><p>Yibo bit his lip. It was the moment of truth. If he was going to meet up with this guy and ask him to attend the gala as his date, he would have to let him know sooner or later.</p><p>The anonymity had been almost nice for a change. Xiao Zhan didn’t know who he was, so he was being his genuine self. He seemed pretty nice, though Yibo might be reading too much into text.</p><p><em>Yes,</em> Yibo replied, and took a quick selfie, making sure the light from the windows backlit him and left him somewhat in shadow. He kept the focus on his face, though it would be obvious he wasn’t wearing a shirt. <em>I’m Wang Yibo.</em></p><p>He was expecting a long pause to follow, probably while Xiao Zhan had a crisis over discovering he’d had a match requested with Wang Yibo, but a response came through almost immediately.</p><p>
  <em>!!!!!! What could you possibly need from my humble person? So gorgeous...</em>
</p><p>Yibo smiled down at his phone. <em>I sent a selfie, it’s only fair to send one in return,</em> he replied, enjoying the momentary diversion of banter. He’d get to the point but he wanted to see if Xiao Zhan matched the artful photos on his profile. It was always possible for someone to exaggerate with carefully chosen camera angles.</p><p>
  <em>Oh</em>
</p><p>That earned him a longer pause. Yibo sipped at his coffee, amused. He checked his messages from his manager; the usual, she was making arrangements for some upcoming endorsement shoots and had a few script proposals to discuss with him.</p><p>When the Sugar Rush message came through, Yibo opened it right away.</p><p>He grinned. Xiao Zhan had obviously had some help from someone at his office. His hair had been smoothed back from his forehead and artfully tousled. He’d unbuttoned the top button of his white shirt and he was leaning back in his chair, angling a somewhat shy smile at the camera.</p><p>Yibo’s eyes moved over the photo, devouring it. He wanted more. He wanted to meet him.</p><p>He wanted to eat Xiao Zhan up with a spoon.</p><p>They probably ought to meet in a public place first, then. If his reaction to Xiao Zhan in person was any stronger than seeing a candid photo, he was in trouble. </p><p><em>Sorry, I’m at the office, there’s only so much I can do,</em> 🤣 🤣 🤣 Xiao Zhan replied.</p><p>Yibo gripped his phone hard and breathed in and out. <em>If you’re interested, I need a date for a gala event tomorrow night.</em></p><p>
  <em>Sure! We can have coffee? See if we get along? Set terms?</em>
</p><p>Yibo was about to answer off the cuff about not caring whether they got along, he just needed a good looking date for the gala, and stopped himself before his thumbs even got into motion.</p><p><em>Yes,</em> he replied. <em>Let’s meet up.</em> He forced himself to take a slow breath, another sip of coffee, and preview any message twice before sending it.</p><p>It hadn’t even been a thirst trap, Yibo thought to himself, bemused. Why was he this affected by a candid selfie of the man at his office desk?</p><p>They set a time and place to meet later that day and Xiao Zhan bid him farewell, apologizing and letting him know he had a pile of work to get through before he could take a break.</p><p>Yibo spent the rest of the hour sipping coffee and locating Xiao Zhan’s Oasis profile, scrolling through and lingering over the rare photos he posted of himself. He really was very good looking. There was even a gym photo from not too long ago showing that Xiao Zhan kept himself in trim shape, long work hours aside. Yibo could relate. No matter how packed his schedule was he always took time for some cardio or strength training at the bare minimum, or Pilates exercises if he was stuck in a hotel room.</p><p>He decided to try and be flexible about this, rather than approach it like a contract. It was essentially a pay for service type of arrangement, but he would allow Xiao Zhan certain liberties.</p><p>He probably looked fantastic in a suit. Yibo couldn’t wait to find out.</p>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>***</p>
</div>The moment Xiao Zhan looked up from his phone with stunned eyes, Xuan Lu was crouched and waiting beside his desk.<p>“Who is it?” Xuan Lu demanded. “Who’s your match?”</p><p>“It’s Wang Yibo,” Xiao Zhan whispered hoarsely.</p><p>Xuan Lu’s eyes went huge and she stuffed a fist at the corner of her mouth. A squeak escaped her. “I thought he was dating Cheng Xiao!” She stopped all pretense of work and held her phone up, finger moving over it fast.</p><p>Xiao Zhan felt like the wind had been knocked out of him. He knew who Wang Yibo was; everyone did. His face was plastered everywhere thanks to his endorsements and he was an up and coming household name due to the popularity of one of his recent dramas. He fanned his face and neck. His face was still hot from the embarrassment of the selfie he’d taken—or maybe from looking at Yibo’s clearly shirtless shoulders.</p><p>Was he such a weak man, that a hint of skin could get him this heated up?</p><p>“Oh, Cheng Xiao is dating Peng Chuyue now,” Xuan Lu said. She pursed her lips in appraisal. “Good for her. He’s older but it seems like a real love match.”</p><p>“Older? He’s not that much older,” Xiao Zhan complained weakly, already aware of the age gap between himself and the younger man who had matched with him.</p><p>“Exactly. It’s not anything to be concerned with,” Xuan Lu said with a flip of her hand. “So are you meeting up with him?”</p><p>“He wants to take me to a gala tomorrow night,” Xiao Zhan confessed. “I suggested we start with coffee, to make sure we’re compatible.”</p><p>Xuan Lu stared at him.</p><p>“What?” Xiao Zhan glanced over his shoulder and back at her. “What’s that look for?”</p><p>“Xiao Zhan,” Xuan Lu began. She paused. She reached over and took his phone out of his hand and wrapped both her hands around his. “You are so sweet. So naïve.”</p><p>Xiao Zhan tried to glare at her, but he knew from previous attempts it wasn’t very effective. “What are you going on about?”</p><p>“You don’t need to be compatible to attend a gala if he’s paying you to be his date,” Xuan Lu explained in simple, concise terms.</p><p>Xiao Zhan blinked. “Oh,” he said in a small voice. “Well, he agreed to coffee.”</p><p>Xuan Lu let go of his hands and patted his cheek. “Then he’s probably indulging you,” she said.</p><p>“Ugh.” Xiao Zhan took his head in both hands. Wang Yibo probably thought he was either incredibly naïve as Xuan Lu had fondly accused, or was trying to milk him of more money. The coffee meeting counted as a compensated date.</p><p>“It’s all right,” Xuan Lu said. “He can definitely afford it.” She had accurately guessed the source of his dismay.</p><p>Xiao Zhan sighed and contemplated pounding his head against his desk. It wasn’t like it would improve Yibo’s opinion of him, so he opted against it.</p><p>“You should take the rest of the day, shower and change to make a good impression, and go meet with him,” Xuan Lu advised.</p><p>“Really?” Xiao Zhan looked at his computer and the mountain of work awaiting him.</p><p>“Yes,” Xuan Lu said in a firm tone. “Consider how much both the coffee date and the gala will bring you all together. You can afford to miss a little work to make yourself pretty for him.”</p><p>Xiao Zhan skewed his mouth and gave her an unimpressed look, which she ignored as usual. He did pull up the app and went over the basic figures for those types of interactions and sat back in his chair after doing some math in his head.</p><p>“I guess some people don’t need a job at all if they’re attractive enough,” he mumbled.</p><p>Xuan Lu patted his hand. “Go. And put on some cologne, too.”</p><p>“You think so?” He was dubious. Would it even be discernible over the smell of coffee?</p><p>“Yes, the one with the cedar top note. It’s incredibly sexy on you.” Xuan Lu’s eyes twinkled. She smoothed down his collar.</p><p>“I always thought so, but it’s kind of weird to hear you say it,” Xiao Zhan replied with a laugh. “Fine, fine. I’m getting out of here.”</p><p>Even a single night at a gala would really help out the overall budget, Xiao Zhan mused to himself as he returned to his place and threw himself into preparations.</p><p>He arrived ridiculously early at the café they had agreed upon. There was no way he was going to risk getting there after Wang Yibo.</p><p>It gave him time to trawl the ’net and pull up a recent interview of Wang Yibo at a fan meet. He ended up having to shut it off, his skin crawling with second-hand embarrassment. The idol was blunt to the point of being rude, delivering one-word answers with an almost blank face. Xiao Zhan almost shivered with sympathy for the poor MC, who was doing his best but occasionally froze like a deer in headlights when Wang Yibo’s answers left him with nowhere to go.</p><p>Could he really be this guy’s sugar baby? Wang Yibo didn’t seem like the kind of person he would get along with at all. Even if he was taking someone’s money, Xiao Zhan needed for there to be respect.</p><p>It was why he’d ended up quitting his previous design firm, after all.</p><p>He turned his screen off and slipped his phone into his pocket when it was close to time.</p><p>Xiao Zhan waited, maintaining an attentive posture for as long as he could. He folded one hand over the other. He crossed his legs. He decided that posture was too bold and crossed his ankles instead. He switched hands but that felt odd so he put his dominant hand over the other again. After he’d been waiting long enough that he started looking for a clock in the café and failed to find one, he pulled out his phone and checked the time.</p><p>Fifteen minutes past.</p><p>Xiao Zhan frowned. He reminded himself that Wang Yibo was an idol and they probably weren’t the most punctual type. He considered sending a message through the app but held back. If Yibo was on his way, there wasn’t much point. </p><p>He sat back in his chair and considered loosening his collar. He got up and got a fresh cup of iced coffee instead, even though he knew it was going to make him jittery. Not enough food and too much caffeine tended to do that to him, but he was nervous and needed something to do. The coffee would help suppress his appetite until he was able to eat, at least.</p><p>At twenty minutes past, he checked his phone, checked the app for any unread messages (there were none), and checked their message thread to make sure he had gotten the café right (he had). He began to compose a complaining message to Xuan Lu about being ditched and discarded it.</p><p>He opened Wang Yibo’s selfie from that morning and did a quick reverse image search but came up with no matches. That had been real, at least.</p><p>At thirty minutes past, Xiao Zhan sighed and opened up a mobile game. He’d been at the café for nearly an hour. If he stayed any longer, they were probably going to ask him to buy something else or kick him out.</p><p>He was fully absorbed in swiping his way to victory against enemy forces of demonic cultivation when a shadow loomed over him and someone cleared their throat.</p><p>“Yes, one second,” Xiao Zhan said, jabbing his finger at the screen faster and trying to clear the screen to get past the round. It was probably a café employee come to ask him to leave.</p><p>The throat-clearing noise repeated, louder and more pointed. “Xiao Zhan?”</p><p>“Yes, I—oh!” He gasped and sat bolt upright, turning his phone off and stuffing it into his back pocket. Before he could even think about standing, a tall, lanky figure slid into the seat across from him.</p><p>The person wore a black baseball cap pulled low over the forehead, a black mask that looked to be high quality for long term wear, and dark glasses.</p><p>Xiao Zhan gulped. He was no longer sure he’d been catfished. It wasn’t the kind of prank Zhuocheng would pull on him, either.</p><p>“I had a shoot,” the man’s low, mellow voice reached him. “It ran late.”</p><p>“I see,” Xiao Zhan said as the man peeled his mask off with a sigh, letting it hang off one ear.</p><p>He took his glasses off and pulled the baseball cap off, fixing Xiao Zhan with a level brown-eyed stare. Wang Yibo. It was him without question.</p><p>Xiao Zhan’s gut clenched. <i>I don’t know if I can do this.</i> A helpless, weird flutter swept through him. He was so handsome, but he’d already been so cold. When combined with the lateness, the lack of apology—it betokened a void of consideration to Xiao Zhan—and the curt, rude interview fresh on his mind that put the poor MC on the spot, it was no surprise the idol was seeking to engage someone’s time with his money rather than his charms.</p><p>“I…” Xiao Zhan began. He stopped. He put one hand over the other and peered closer at Yibo.</p><p>“You are Xiao Zhan,” Wang Yibo said, sounding faintly amused but also impatient. He leaned in too. “You’re better looking in person.”</p><p>Xiao Zhan’s mouth rounded. He was supposed to say something, acknowledgement or compliment. What came out of his mouth instead was, “I don’t know if I can do this.”</p><p>Wang Yibo’s face dropped. “All right,” he said, tone cool. “Let me know for sure, so that I don’t waste my time.”</p><p>The coldness had gone up at once, like armor. Xiao Zhan tapped the table with one hand, staring at him. “Why do you even need a sugar baby?” Again, a question he probably shouldn’t ask that he couldn’t help but blurt out. “Couldn’t you just wave your hand and—”</p><p>Yibo grimaced like the question pained him. “You might have noticed, but I’m not good at talking to people.”</p><p>Xiao Zhan started to stifle a laugh, thought twice about it, and chuckled, hunching over slightly as the force of it rolled through him. He looked up to see Yibo looking at him with a frown. “Sorry, sorry.” He made himself sit up straight and waved a hand.</p><p>“No, don’t…” Yibo began. He cut himself off with a headshake. “Never mind. The point is, if I compensate you to take you as my date to tomorrow night’s gala, we both get something we need. It’s a business arrangement.”</p><p>Xiao Zhan observed him more closely. The man was younger than him, but looked even more tired than Xiao Zhan felt. He wondered when the last time was that Yibo had eaten. “No feelings involved,” he mused.</p><p>Yibo responded with a crisp nod. “Exactly. I won’t have to worry about hurting someone’s feelings or inflating their expectations.”</p><p>That set Xiao Zhan back on his heels a bit and he draped an arm over the back of his chair. It was admirable, actually. Honorable in a way. He wanted to understand why Yibo felt he needed to go to such an extent, and now that he understood, he supposed he could respect the reason.</p><p>He felt a sort of kinship with it, even. Xiao Zhan’s own mother was perpetually on his case for not finding someone, or taking the time to look, but all he could do was keep his brand-new company afloat. And he was failing at that.</p><p>“Okay,” Xiao Zhan said, meaning yes.</p><p>“Can I ask…” Yibo hesitated. His brow furrowed briefly before smoothing out. “Why you’re considering saying no?”</p><p>Xiao Zhan compressed his lips. “I don’t mind the lateness, but you could have said so. And apologized,” he added, not meaning for it to be pointed but it came out sounding that way. The lateness was only one factor, but he was beginning to think he’d misunderstood some of the others.</p><p>“Oh,” Yibo said. He looked stunned. “Uh, sorry?”</p><p>Xiao Zhan barely smiled. He wondered when had been the last time someone had called Yibo out on rudeness.</p><p>“I didn’t have my phone with the app,” Yibo explained, pulling his mobile out and setting it on the table. “Sorry. I have two. So I didn’t have a way to reach you. If you give me your WeChat, I can make sure it won’t happen again. Provided you haven’t decided you don’t want to go through with this.” He smiled, but it was more a tightening of the mouth that didn’t reach his eyes.</p><p>Xiao Zhan bobbed his head slowly, eyes remaining on Yibo as he fished his mobile out of his pocket too. He really needed the money, he reminded himself. Yibo had been considerate to meet him for coffee when that was basically Xiao Zhan asking for an extra compensated date outside the event he’d asked for. Yibo was young, clean, presentable…and <i>very</i> attractive.</p><p>He thought back to the interview and those blunt answers. Xiao Zhan had the sense that Yibo really was as awkward, as bad at talking with people, as he seemed. He offered Yibo a smile and turned his mobile on, bringing up his contact card to exchange info.</p><p>What was the worst that could happen, Xiao Zhan reasoned.</p><p>“Sorry to make you doubt me,” Xiao Zhan replied. “This is my first time doing something like this. I’d like to agree to be your date.”</p><p>He couldn’t quite bring himself to use the words ‘sugar baby.’</p><p>Yibo’s face sparked with a small but genuine smile and he extended his phone to capture Xiao Zhan’s contact card. “Thank you,” he said, sounding sincere.</p><p>That little smile was like tinder flaring to life inside Xiao Zhan’s chest. <i>Oh, no,</i> he realized, pocketing his phone. This man was trouble. He already had a feeling the genuine Wang Yibo was a menace.</p><p>“Let’s work out the details right now, if you don’t mind,” Yibo said.</p><p>“Uh,” Xiao Zhan said. He blinked. “Details?”</p><p>“It’s like a contract,” Yibo said patiently. “We agree on the boundaries for both of us. Physical contact, subjects to discuss in public…”</p><p>“Oh! Oh, yes, of course,” Xiao Zhan said, trying to tamp down his feeling of foolishness. He should have read the guidelines again while he was waiting for Yibo rather than playing silly games. “Yes, that makes sense.”</p><p>Yibo’s eyes moved over him. “And you’ll need a suit,” he added, a small frown lingering between his brows.</p><p>“I have a suit,” Xiao Zhan said, defensive. He sat up a little straighter.</p><p>Yibo smirked at him. “You’ll need a bespoke suit,” he clarified. “Don’t worry. I can get you into an emergency fitting.”</p><p>Xiao Zhan bit his lip and hoped very much he hadn’t gotten himself in over his head.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. chapter two</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The first date, and reporting back to friends and colleagues.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Yibo had gone back and forth over whether they should have Xiao Zhan meet him at a third location that had nothing to do with either of them, or if he could pick him up directly. Jin Yu Ling had settled it for him.</p><p>“We’ll want to do makeup. I doubt he has a person for it.” She’d looked over Xiao Zhan’s photos on his profile, and the ones from his Oasis. “In fact, I doubt he generally wears makeup at all. Wow. Very good bone structure.”</p><p>“Hands off. He’s mine,” Yibo warned, and he’d meant it as a joke but it had come out more serious than he intended.</p><p>In the end, they had decided to shuttle him over to a third-party location for both of them to get hair and makeup done. Yibo sent him a WeChat to let him know and checked on the status of the suit—sending Xiao Zhan to his own tailor ensured it would be put on Yibo’s tab—and was pleased that had gotten resolved satisfactorily. Xiao Zhan sent him back a photo of the suit on the rack and Yibo had to suppress a flash of disappointment it wasn’t a mirror selfie of him wearing it.</p><p>Well, he would get to enjoy the full picture live in person that evening.</p><p>Even on a day where his full night was committed, Yibo’s schedule didn’t escape unscathed. He had two meetings to discuss endorsements and a third to chat briefly with the director and casting director for a drama that his manager was working to land for him. When he headed out for the boutique where he would suit up and get his hair and makeup done, he was early for a change. It made him smirk and check his phone for messages from Xiao Zhan.</p><p>Yibo couldn’t remember the last time he’d been scolded so directly. Maybe by his mother ten years prior—or a manager early on when he was still under strict contract to debut and behave a certain way. Xiao Zhan calling him out had made him realize it had been a while since he’d apologized, in fact…and that wasn’t a good thing. Being known for a blunt, outspoken manner was one thing.</p><p>Not apologizing, being perceived as rude…that had never been Yibo’s intention, and the quick cut of regret had been immediate.</p><p><b>Xiao Zhan:</b> <em>wrapped up everything, and managed to get in a few more hours of work. See you soon!</em></p><p>Yibo gave a satisfied nod. He wouldn’t have been surprised to see a lack of messages, but it pleased him to see Xiao Zhan check in.</p><p>It was more than the nearly impossible prospect of lining up a date if Xiao Zhan had fallen through. Yibo prided himself on being an excellent judge of character upon meeting someone, particularly with respect to how he’d get along with them.</p><p>Yibo had a very good feeling about Xiao Zhan.</p><p>He wondered if it was too soon to ask the man to be his regular date. Well, he would see how the evening went, then go from there.</p><p>They arrived at around the same time, Xiao Zhan with a suit bag in one hand and a coffee tray in the other. He’d brought one for each of them and the makeup and hair artists as well, which made Yibo scratch at his neck and think he ought to have provided that.</p><p>“Let’s get you both dressed, quickly,” one of the stylists said after bowing thanks to Xiao Zhan. “It’s fine to be a little fashionably late but we still want to get you out of here in time.”</p><p>Yibo got into his suit, a smartly cut bespoke suit influenced by the latest fashion runways that had been custom tailored for him. The cuffs were a little wide and the cuff links were white gold and Swarovski lion heads. He was still adjusting those when Xiao Zhan stepped out from behind his own privacy screen, tapping his foot in one shoe then the other and drawing Yibo’s attention down to the shoes in question.</p><p>He managed to keep a straight face but made a mental note to send Xiao Zhan more money on top of his date compensation to buy a good set of dress shoes. Then his eyes went up the man from ankles to collarbones and Yibo’s mouth dropped open.</p><p>Xiao Zhan looked, in a word, edible.</p><p>Yibo pulled in a slow breath and tried not to think how he wanted to unbutton that crisp white dress shirt and pull every stitch of clothing off him and get his mouth on the lean, undoubtedly beautiful lines of his body.</p><p>“Ah, I haven’t ever worn a suit like this before,” Xiao Zhan said in a complaining tone. “Hopefully I won’t look too out of place.”</p><p>“You look…” Yibo began, his brain blanking on adjectives as his eyes roamed Xiao Zhan’s body again. The suit hugged the lines of his body, outlining a slim waist and incredibly long legs. His shoulders were broad enough to hint at muscle. He’d chosen a tie that was a dark blue, complementary to the blue of the tailored suit that hugged his body so nicely, and speckled with scattered sparks of crystal that made it look like a field of stars.</p><p>Yibo wanted to grab it and reel him in.</p><p>“Oh no,” Xiao Zhan said. “I look so bad you’re speechless? That’s no good. Maybe these stylists can straighten out this humble man.”</p><p>The two stylists were gawking at him too. Yibo compressed his mouth to a thin line and held his hand out, gesturing for Xiao Zhan to take a seat, which the other man did with a somewhat peaky laugh.</p><p>Sat as they were in front of a pair of mirrors, Yibo had a clear line to look directly into Xiao Zhan’s reflected eyes. “You look incredible,” he muttered. He rolled his lips together.</p><p>Xiao Zhan’s eyes widened. “What was that?” He cupped the ear closest to Yibo.</p><p>Yibo looked away. “I’m not repeating it,” he said. He tipped his head back as his stylist directed him to while she worked through his hair. He did glance back toward the mirror in time to see a faint smile.</p><p>Their stylists were quick and efficient, and Xiao Zhan finished his iced coffee as his hair was artfully tousled. Yibo’s was even faster. The makeup took more time. Because they would be going past a line of photographers, they both got the full treatment from foundation blended down into the neckline to neutrally tinted lip balm to careful eyebrow grooming and emphasis. Yibo didn’t mind going with eye product so long as it wasn’t too outrageous, but Xiao Zhan resisted at first. </p><p>“You’re going to get your photo taken tonight, trust me,” the stylist told Xiao Zhan, patting his shoulder. “Don’t worry, I won’t give you a smoky eye. Unless you want that!”</p><p>Xiao Zhan scrunched his face doubtfully at the mirror, making Yibo want to laugh.</p><p>He tipped his head to one side, observing the man. What about him was drawing him in so fast? Yibo didn’t open up to people like that, not anymore. Everyone wanted a piece of him, which was why he didn’t date. Even this man…he was here because of the money.</p><p>“You’re the professional,” Xiao Zhan acceded with a nod. “I’m in your hands.” He smiled.</p><p>Yibo turned away from the mirror, his mouth pinching. Everyone wanted something, but he’d chosen Xiao Zhan because his profile had seemed open, artless. And from what little he knew of him, the man matched the small details he’d made available.</p><p>“All right, finished,” the woman said, stepping back to let Xiao Zhan spin his chair and stand up. “He’s all yours.”</p><p>Yibo stowed the phone he’d half unpocketed and craned his head to observe Xiao Zhan approaching. He caught his breath.</p><p>“Gorgeous,” the word escaped Yibo without his conscious bidding, and Xiao Zhan broke into the widest, sweetest smile he’d seen yet.</p><p>“Flatterer,” Xiao Zhan shot back, one hand clipping out toward him before he looked startled and pulled it back.</p><p>“You can touch me,” Yibo reminded him. He offered his arm.</p><p>After a beat of hesitation, Xiao Zhan took it, resuming his smile but with a touch of reserve.</p><p>Yibo held in his discontent. He wanted that wide smile back. “Let’s go, Zhan-ge,” he said, guiding them toward the back entrance and the SUV that awaited them there.</p><p>They had settled on basic guidelines for their date, including what to call one another. Yibo had specified no pet names, and Xiao Zhan had indicated he was comfortable with a range of appellations but offered up ‘Zhan-ge’ as an option that Yibo had latched onto at once. They had settled on the plausible but unromantic story of meeting because they had bumped into one another at a coffee shop. Technically, it was the truth. Casual touching above the waist was permitted by both sides. Yibo had specified he encouraged it on Xiao Zhan’s part; he himself wasn’t known for being handsy.</p><p>As a form of self-insurance, Yibo had added an ‘upgrade clause’ for the evening. There might be a situation, whether it was for cameras or for appearing physically romantic for a casting director, where he might find it advantageous to kiss Xiao Zhan.</p><p>Xiao Zhan had seemed surprised, but agreed to it without hesitation.</p><p><i>“Like it would be any hardship to kiss you,”</i> he’d even joked.</p><p>Yibo had looked away. “You’d be surprised,” was all he could say in answer.</p><p>Cheng Xiao had complained repeatedly that kissing him was like trying to kiss a block of wood. And the co-stars he’d been on a few romantic dramas had echoed that with similar grumbles.</p><p>“So,” Yibo said once they’d settled side by side in the bucket seats. It almost made Yibo wish for a limo, because those were more companionable.</p><p>"So," Xiao Zhan said about an octave higher. "What to expect?"</p><p>"We'll disembark and go past the photographers first," Yibo said. "We'll spend ten minutes or so standing still for them and posing."</p><p>"Just you, right?" Xiao Zhan said. His eyes were a little wide and he visibly swallowed.</p><p>It made Yibo want to reach out and pat his hand. "Both of us at first. You're my date, Zhan-ge. It may not be splashy news like Cheng Xiao getting together with Peng Chuyue, but it will make a ripple on the gossip pages."</p><p>Xiao Zhan's eyes widened even more. "I didn't think about that."</p><p>It caused a little protective flare to go off in Yibo's chest. "Is that going to be a problem?"</p><p>Xiao Zhan shook his head right away. "I really should have connected it in my head before," he said in a rueful tone. "Going out with a famous person means people will pay attention to me too."</p><p>"They absolutely will," Yibo confirmed. "It will drive hits to your Weibo and Oasis, so I hope you're prepared for that."</p><p>Xiao Zhan waved a hand. "They won't find anything worth picking over."</p><p>"It's not even that," Yibo said. "You might get some people curious about your business."</p><p>Xiao Zhan's mouth dropped open.</p><p>Yibo smiled at him. Not a tight, obligatory smile; he favored Xiao Zhan with one of his rare genuine grins. "You really are innocent," he said, trying not to sound fond.</p><p>"That's what Lulu says," Xiao Zhan replied, sounding ruffled. "All right. Anything else?"</p><p>"Do you want to hold hands while they take photos, or hold onto my arm?" Yibo asked. He was fine with either. He wondered if he could get away with putting a proprietary hand on Xiao Zhan's hip. It was within the bounds of what they'd discussed.</p><p>"My hand might get sweaty," Xiao Zhan warned him.</p><p>"That doesn't bother me." Yibo turned his head as he smiled this time, not wanting to give himself away. Xiao Zhan was unbelievably cute for an older man. How innocent was he?</p><p>"Oh, okay...then, if you don't mind." Xiao Zhan sounded a bit flustered.</p><p>"Are you dating any other men through the app?" Yibo asked, doing his best to keep any hint of jealousy from his voice. It was his right to ask, he decided. If Xiao Zhan was publicly seen with someone else, say, tomorrow, it was the kind of thing that could be talked about and used against him. <i>Wang Yibo can't even keep a date to himself for twenty-four hours.</i></p><p>"What? No," Xiao Zhan replied, startled. "No, I...you're the first, Yibo."</p><p>Yibo nodded, putting a hand to his chin and concealing the satisfaction that swelled up in him at that quick response. "Can I...is it too much trouble to ask you not to date anyone else, while we're..." He gave a headshake. "I'm sorry, this is something I should have asked yesterday while we were working through details."</p><p>"It's all right," Xiao Zhan replied. There was humor in his voice when he continued. "This isn't my primary source of income, and I don't think it's too much for you to ask, considering your position. I wouldn't have time for any other dates."</p><p>"Ah," Yibo said. He managed to meet his eyes. "Thank you."</p><p>"There's no need," Xiao Zhan deferred. He was still smiling when he continued. "My mother got on my case plenty for not having enough time to date. I was devoting so much time to college, then getting ahead at the firm, and now starting my own business. That's where all my time and energy has gone."</p><p>Yibo pulled in a slow breath. Of course. Sugar dating was a supplementary income for Xiao Zhan, after all. He wasn't doing this out of a desire to connect with someone. He turned his head to look out the window, fingers tapping over the arm of his seat, and reminded himself that he wasn't, either.</p><p>"Then, Cheng Xiao was...also an arrangement?" Xiao Zhan asked with a delicacy that Yibo admired.</p><p>He turned in his seat to meet Xiao Zhan's eyes again. "She was," he confirmed. "Just between you and me, I'm not much into women. Idols are supposed to show an interest regardless of gender, of course, but I prefer men." He grimaced slightly.</p><p>Xiao Zhan put fingers to his brow. "Your secret is safe with me," he said with a solemnity that Yibo could believe in.</p><p>Somehow the other man kept their conversation rolling, easy and natural, for the remaining duration of the ride and for a change Yibo didn't feel drained by it. They pulled up to the turnout for the venue.</p><p>"I'll go first," Yibo told him, and Xiao Zhan nodded. "They'll open the door for you and escort you around the back of the car to join me." It was important to coach Xiao Zhan through these steps, he realized, because even if he had been to an event of this scale before—Yibo doubted it—it would definitely be his first time attending as the date of an idol.</p><p>Camera flash strobed and popped through the air from the moment Yibo set foot outside the SUV even despite the shield of umbrellas held up between him and the curb as he climbed out. He did a half turn to put his back to the dazzle and glare as he waited for Xiao Zhan to join him, and held his hand out as he approached.</p><p>Xiao Zhan tipped his head at him and gave him a truly sweet smile as he reached for Yibo's hand in answer.</p><p>Yibo had to remind himself it wasn't real, that he'd be sending date compensation by the end of the night, but in the here and now Xiao Zhan looked so handsome, so attentive, that Yibo could hardly be blamed for feeling a certain way.</p><p>They stepped onto the curb and walked toward the row of photographers together. Xiao Zhan's hand tightened in his as they approached and some of them began calling out questions.</p><p>"Wang Yibo! Who's this? Are you dating someone new?" one of them asked before tilting his camera toward them to take a few photos.</p><p>Yibo put his vague, pleasant camera smile on and looked from one photographer to the next, declining to answer.</p><p>"Yibo! Is this handsome young man why Cheng Xiao left you?" a young woman shouted, aiming her camera at him for a reaction shot.</p><p>Yibo cut his eyes toward her and his smile widened. "Cheng Xiao and I are friends and parted amiably," he said. They had a mutually beneficial relationship, after all, and though they had been antagonistic every now and then, he regarded her as a sister. He'd never say anything to harm her career. "It was a mutual split." That was a lie, but one the gossip rags could never verify because Cheng Xiao would say the same thing.</p><p>"Young man, handsome gege! Tell us your name," another photographer coaxed. </p><p>Xiao Zhan looked their way but said nothing as instructed. He held a hand up against one particularly bright flash, but otherwise stood and kept his mouth shut with a pleasant smile, fingers twined with Yibo's in a secure hold.</p><p>"That's great," one man said, gesturing. "Really great photos of both of you."</p><p>One photographer pulled their camera away and caught Yibo's attention with an uplift of his chin. "Yibo, can we get a few photos of just you?"</p><p>Yibo nodded, disentangling his hand from Xiao Zhan's and trying to suppress the pang of reluctance. "You can stand just beyond the ad wall," he told his date, gesturing to one side where a couple of broad security men awaited.</p><p>Xiao Zhan returned the nod and walked off, leaving Yibo to stand solo against the backdrop. A few more flashes went off. He shifted, changing his weight from one leg to the other and turning his head. Flashes went off again.</p><p>"All right," Yibo said, lifting a hand. His managertheir was beckoning from beyond the security men. "Thank you, everyone."</p><p>He received a chorus of 'thank you's’ in return and rejoined Xiao Zhan in a couple of strides, taking his hand once more and offering him a small smile that was immediately returned.</p><p>"You two are cute," Yibo's manager commented. "Yibo, I'm proud of you for finding a date."</p><p>"Perhaps I'm not completely hopeless," Yibo said in a dry tone. It had less to do with his personality and more to do with Xiao Zhan's financial straits, but he certainly wasn't going to say so.</p><p>"All right, I know you prefer to avoid socializing but there's several people I need you to connect with tonight," his manager said.</p><p>Yibo pulled in a fortifying breath. Xiao Zhan's hand tightened on his.</p><p>"Ma'am, can I talk to them as well?" Xiao Zhan spoke up.</p><p>"Huh?" Yibo's manager looked at Xiao Zhan, undoubtedly flustered at being called ma'am, but scrutinized him more closely. "Yes, of course. Yibo can always interrupt you if you're saying something unnecessary. But I have a feeling you wouldn't, would you?"</p><p>Xiao Zhan gave a modest chuckle. "Ma'am, I'm a businessman. Sizing up the room is not only my occupation, it's something I take pride in doing well."</p><p>"Ah, you're a diplomat!" she exclaimed.</p><p>"Well, not exactly..." Xiao Zhan demurred.</p><p>"No, it's perfect," Yibo's manager said. "Please. Feel free to ply your conversational wiles. I've considered sending Yibo to training for it."</p><p>"Manager," Yibo said in protest, and she simply quirked her mouth at him.</p><p>"Any objectives in particular?" Xiao Zhan asked.</p><p>"Just be seen, make polite conversation, put Yibo's face and presence on their radar," she replied. "Even if he doesn't speak much, that's fine. So long as they get a good look at him, that's what matters."</p><p>Yibo tried not to sigh. He did. "Acting and making trivial conversation are two different skill sets," he reminded her. </p><p>"Yes, yes, and you're not comfortable with strangers," she said, but didn't sound as put out as she normally did. "All right, go. The director for the criminal procedure drama first, okay? Go make your debut as a couple."</p><p>Xiao Zhan gave her another smile as Yibo tugged him away from his manager and toward the open double doors.</p><p>“Anyone we meet in here will be also be gala attendees,” Yibo said to him as they headed up the red carpet toward the open doors. “So I’ll introduce you as my date, Xiao Zhan.”</p><p>Xiao Zhan replied with a nod. His hand tightened on Yibo’s arm and he took a deep breath.</p><p>“You’ll be fine,” Yibo assured him, certain of it. “It’s no different from any business dinner you’ve been to, I’m sure.”</p><p>“Oh, how would you know?” Xiao Zhan questioned, turning an arch look on him.</p><p>Yibo gave him a smug grin. “I’ve played a businessman on television before.”</p><p>They exchanged chuckles and Yibo guided him through the entrance past another gauntlet of photographers waiting to dazzle the new entrants with a bank of flashing bulbs. Once they were past that, though, they were through to a conference hall space.</p><p>They made their way past rows and rows of tables to the open floor space beyond. It wasn’t an award ceremony, just a gala, so there would be mingling, food, toasts, more networking, and some dancing. The dancing happened concurrently with more mingling and drinking.</p><p>“We have assigned seating,” Yibo bent his head closer to Xiao Zhan to say. “But we won’t know who our seatmates are until we get there. Managers can always make requests, but as you can imagine, the requests can get highly competitive and certain people fill up fast.”</p><p>“Did your manager put in requests?” Xiao Zhan asked, looking interested.</p><p>Yibo tried not to roll his eyes and sigh. “She always does.”</p><p>Xiao Zhan laughed at him. “You absolutely hate networking, don’t you?”</p><p>“Ah, what gave you that impression?” Yibo replied with a smirk.</p><p>Knowing that Yibo was less at ease seemed to put Xiao Zhan more in his element. He looked around, eyes bright, and his hand was more relaxed on Yibo’s arm. He nodded in a particular direction toward a cluster of people, women in cocktail dresses and men in suits. “There’s your first contact for the night.”</p><p>Yibo nodded and guided them toward the group. Here would be the first test.</p><p>“Director Cheng,” Yibo said with a respectful nod when they stepped close enough and he caught the man’s eye.</p><p>“Ah, Wang Yibo!” Director Cheng said, turning from his companions and saying a brief word in parting to them before transferring his attention to Yibo. “I was hoping to see you here tonight. And this is…” His round, pleasant face oriented in Xiao Zhan’s direction.</p><p>Xiao Zhan inclined his head low enough it was almost a half bow.</p><p>“This is my date, Xiao Zhan,” Yibo replied.</p><p>“Pleasure to meet you,” Director Cheng said with a nod. He beamed. “The two of you make a beautiful couple. Dare I say, even more suited for one another than you and Cheng Xiao?”</p><p>Yibo gave a tight smile, unsure how to respond to that.</p><p>“Ah, it was time for a mutual parting of ways,” Xiao Zhan said smoothly. “I’m the lucky one, happening along at the right time and place for Yibo to be seeking a new partner.”</p><p>“True, true,” the director replied. He tilted his head. “How did the two of you meet?”</p><p>“Oh, you’d never believe it!” Xiao Zhan exclaimed. “We met at a coffee shop. I had no idea who he was, he bought my drink, and we sat and talked for hours.”</p><p>Yibo kept his face straight with an effort. It was true in every sense of the word, yet a total distortion of what actually happened. It was also something that would be easy for both of them to remember, and the kind of thing that people considered a ‘meet-cute.’</p><p>Yeah, Yibo didn’t really understand that. He thought he probably never would.</p><p>“Sounds like you hit it off right away,” Director Cheng said, cocking his head at Yibo. </p><p>Yibo managed a somewhat more natural smile. “Zhan-ge is very easy to talk to,” he allowed.</p><p>They stood there chatting with the director and his wife for a little while longer before Yibo’s manager caught his eye, signaling toward a well-known casting director. Yibo squeezed Xiao Zhan’s arm, and as though they had pre-arranged it, he extricated them from their conversation, wrapping it up with a smile and a bow and letting Yibo steer them on to the next networking opportunity.</p><p>“You are very good at this,” Yibo observed as they headed for the prominent casting director Yibo was supposed to impress.</p><p>Xiao Zhan chuckled. “Talking to people? I don’t mind it. They always have something they want to say about themselves, you know?”</p><p>That got Yibo to put his head to the side, thinking. Was it really that easy? “I don’t have a gift for small talk,” he said at last.</p><p>Xiao Zhan flashed him a reassuring smile. “Then it’s a good thing I’ve got enough stock for both of us.”</p><p>They circulated for nearly an hour. Xiao Zhan was, altogether, the best date Yibo had ever had, sweet and charming with everyone they stopped to speak with, man or woman. He held Yibo’s hand, deflected awkward conversation, and stepped in between Yibo and any person Yibo hinted he might have an issue speaking with.</p><p>It was better by far than Yibo had hoped to imagine.</p><p>Shortly before they were to be seated for dinner, Yibo excused himself from a brief wrap-up conversation with his manager, Xiao Zhan remaining attentive at his side, to go to the bathroom. He left Xiao Zhan chatting with his manager and hustled off with the intent to be quick, but got caught up in a side conversation with Peng Chuyue just inside the exit to the bathroom. The man wanted to be sure there were no hard feelings.</p><p>“Don’t worry about me,” Yibo assured him, wondering if Cheng Xiao had told Chuyue something annoying and unnecessary like he’d been in love with her. He tried not to frown. “I’m just glad she’s found someone who can make her happy.”</p><p>“Ah, I’ll do my best…” Chuyue trailed off, looking confused.</p><p>Yibo bowed and excused himself. By the time he returned to where he’d left Xiao Zhan, both he and Yibo’s manager were gone, but Xiao Zhan was several degrees from where he’d left him, close to their table but someone had stopped him with a hand to his arm.</p><p>It was Zhang Yixing.</p><p>A possessive flare went through Yibo like a torch had been set off inside him. He hurried across the floor to slide an arm around Xiao Zhan’s waist just in time to hear Yixing compliment him on being the best-looking man in the room.</p><p>“There you are, baobei,” Yibo said in his ear, and when Xiao Zhan’s head turned in startlement, Yibo pressed a kiss full on his mouth.</p><p>He hadn’t planned on making use of the extra clause that allowed him to kiss Xiao Zhan, but seeing Yixing flirt outright with his date, eating him up with his eyes, had kindled something in him.</p><p>He would have pulled away if Xiao Zhan had stiffened, or given him some sign the kiss was unwelcome, but Xiao Zhan’s eyes widened and then he melted into it, putting an arm around Yibo in turn.</p><p>Yibo kept the kiss brief if not exactly chaste before turning to Yixing, keeping his arm around Xiao Zhan with one hand finding its way to his hip.</p><p>“Ah,” Yixing said. He gave them a polite smile and a nod. “My apologies.”</p><p>Yibo nodded. “Time to get seated, I think.” He felt somewhat bad at kissing his date right in front of Yixing, but not enough to apologize in turn.</p><p>“You’re right! Have a good evening, gentlemen.” Yixing’s face was full of gentle humor.</p><p>“You too,” Xiao Zhan replied. “Nice to meet you.”</p><p>They seated themselves at a table with some older actors and actresses that Yibo didn’t know well, and Xiao Zhan smoothed Yibo’s introductions for him.</p><p>There was no opportunity for the kiss to come up again in conversation, for which Yibo was grateful. He wasn’t sure how to explain it had been solely for his benefit. The rest of the evening passed without incident, the food was serviceable but not filling, and Yibo’s manager caught his eye and gave him a nod of satisfaction.</p><p>All in all, it was a great night. Yibo couldn’t allow himself to think it had been the best gala he’d attended in a while, or why.</p><div class="center">
  <p>***</p>
</div>Xiao Zhan allowed himself to sleep in late the next day after checking in with Xuan Lu, as she had demanded.<p>“What do you think is going to happen?” he’d asked her with a laugh, to which she’d responded with an eyeroll. </p><p>“Better to be safe,” she’d replied.</p><p>“I don’t think rich people just make people disappear, Lulu,” Xiao Zhan had told her with a laugh and she’d smacked him and said direly that people disappeared somehow, and the prettier they were, the more likely.</p><p>Xiao Zhan stretched, rolled around in his sheets, and petted Jianguo with a light hand when he encountered her burrowed beside his pillow, head turned under one soft paw.</p><p>Yixing had said something about him being beautiful, he recalled, right before Yibo had returned and put an arm around his waist and a tongue in his mouth. Not that Xiao Zhan had any complaints about that. Surprise though it had been, the kiss had been electric.</p><p>He got up at last when Jianguo stirred from her contented ball of fur to make a plaintive noise.</p><p>“Sorry, kitten, I’m feeding you late,” Xiao Zhan apologized to her. He took care of the morning necessities in the bathroom, got his coffee started, and fed Jianguo her quarter-tin of food before checking his assorted messages and emails.</p><p>One of them was a notification of payment through the Sugar Rush currency exchange, and Xiao Zhan sucked in a breath at the sight. It gave him a strange, sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach, like he’d done something dirty.</p><p>Truth was, he had really enjoyed his date with Yibo.</p><p>He’d liked being kissed. He could still recall the way Yibo’s hand settled on his hip with a firm touch.</p><p>Anyone who accused Yibo of not having chemistry with a co-star was officially crazy, Xiao Zhan decided. He was pretty sure Yibo would kindle a fire with anyone he kissed like that, male or female.</p><p>It was above the amount for a date, and Xiao Zhan noted Yibo had added a substantial tip.</p><p>He set his phone aside and drank his coffee, looking out his window at his miserable view of the building of flats next to his. He thought back to Yibo asking him not to date anyone else and explaining it would look bad if the public found out.</p><p>Xiao Zhan had agreed to it readily, not seeing an issue with it. He made a face at his coffee. Now he was wishing it meant something more.</p><p>Later in the day, Xuan Lu and the others coaxed him out to have lunch, for proof of life or something, Xiao Zhan was pretty sure. At least it got him out of his home and kept him from doing work on his personal computer instead of enjoying a day off. There were already photos of Yibo and his date trending from the night before, along with speculation on Xiao Zhan’s identity, and he steeled himself to avoid Weibo for the remainder of the day…or the next few days. It would only be a matter of time until someone identified Xiao Zhan.</p><p>It could only be a good thing, he consoled himself as he headed out for a late lunch.</p><p>“How was it?” Zhuocheng asked the second Xiao Zhan slid into his seat beside Lulu. He guffawed at whatever Xiao Zhan’s face did in response and Xiao Zhan covered his traitorous features with both hands, ears going hot.</p><p>“Don’t tease him,” Xuan Lu said, reproachful, reaching across the table to swat Zhuocheng’s fingers. “He’s doing this for the company.”</p><p>Xiao Zhan straightened and gave her a look. It might not be entirely for the company at the rate he was going.</p><p>“How much was the payout?” Ji Li asked, and whistled when Xiao Zhan turned his app around to display the payment notification he’d gotten. “Nice! How much if you agree to sleep with him?”</p><p>“Don’t be crude,” Xiao Zhan replied, making a face and rapping Ji Li’s knuckles with his napkin roll. “I wouldn’t do that for money.”</p><p>No, Xiao Zhan had the growing conviction he would do that with Yibo for free, if given the opportunity. Yibo was young, unbelievably good looking, smelled great, and had been far more attentive than Xiao Zhan had any right to expect of a man paying for his time. All in all, it had been an excellent date. Xiao Zhan had actually had a way better time on his date with Yibo, awkward spots aside, than any of the past five people he’d attempted to date. And given the not-great nature of the build-up, Yibo had turned out to be far better company than he’d warned he would be.</p><p>A tiny, glowing spark of warmth at Xiao Zhan’s core considered himself to be responsible for that, at least in part. If Yibo had been having a good time because of him, then of course it would have made him an easier companion.</p><p>“Changing the subject,” Xuan Lu said, giving Zhuocheng and Ji Li a hard look.</p><p>“Wait, one more, one more,” Zhuocheng shot back, waving a hand. “Are you going to keep dating him?”</p><p>Xiao Zhan’s face went hot again. “Yes,” he replied. “He already asked me.” He declined to mention that Yibo had asked him to be exclusive.</p><p>It was one degree away from feeling as though Yibo had asked him to be his boyfriend.</p><p>That made him wonder if such a thing was possible for someone like Yibo. He’d mentioned his arrangement with Cheng Xiao—as far as Xiao Zhan knew, he hadn’t dated anyone else in the public eye since his debut. Was that how all celebrities did it? Or was it allowed for feelings to enter the mix?</p><p>“Zhanzhan, I thought you disliked him,” Xuan Lu said with a chuckle.</p><p>Xiao Zhan rubbed at his neck before devoting his attention to the menu. “Well, first impressions aren’t always right,” he said evasively. </p><p>She gave him a fond smile. “You always try to see the best in people,” she praised.</p><p>Xiao Zhan read the menu like his life depended on it. He had to divert himself from the solicitous way Yibo held his arm out for him, the way he’d gently touched Xiao Zhan’s wrist to get his attention…the feel of Yibo’s plush but firm lips on his. His interests in Yibo were less than altruistic.</p><p>Yet he couldn’t shake the feeling in the pit of his stomach that told him he was taking advantage, even though he was the one being paid.</p><div class="center">
  <p>***</p>
</div>“Good job with him,” Yibo’s manager told him. Her usual critical expression was missing, and she turned thoughtful eyes on him instead.<p>Yibo wrinkled his nose at her. “Perhaps I’m not so disagreeable I can’t attract a decent man, after all,” he replied. <i>As long as I’m paying him,</i> he added on a sour note in his own head. If it hadn’t been for Jin Yu Ling, Yibo would have been out of luck.</p><p>“The press response is favorable,” his manager continued. “They went wild over trying to figure out who he was for a few days. You make a very attractive couple together, which is what they ended up focusing on. And Xiao Zhan is a very personable man, which can only be an asset to you at events like that.”</p><p>Yibo made a noncommittal noise. He knew all that. He’d been keeping track of the public response to Xiao Zhan. They’d found his Oasis before forty-eight hours had passed and turned him into a trending topic on Weibo. <em>Who is this beautiful man?</em> He’d be surprised if Xiao Zhan didn’t have a few entertainment offers by the following week.</p><p>He had been checking in with him on WeChat, and they had taken up some wry exchanges, praise balanced out with a rough sort of teasing that delighted Yibo. He’d offered help with a publicity manager, if necessary, and Xiao Zhan had declared he wouldn’t need it. With the exception of his WeChat, he said he’d been ignoring social media channels and he wasn’t going to let the attention get to his head.</p><p>“Think you can keep him?” his manager asked.</p><p>Yibo gave her a slow blink. She couldn’t possibly read his thoughts. He re-oriented himself to a more professional mindset. She wanted him to retain Xiao Zhan for the kind of arrangement he’d had with Cheng Xiao. “I’m hoping so,” he replied.</p><p>“I hope so, too.”</p><p>Days later, Yibo had gotten fairly well used to sporadic daily conversations throughout the day with Xiao Zhan. Besides enjoying his company, he found he liked their text exchanges, witty and bitingly sarcastic by turns. Xiao Zhan checked in with him in the morning, which Yibo liked, and seemed surprised to find Yibo always up at the same hours.</p><p><i>I thought celebrities never got up until noon,</i> Xiao Zhan shot at him.</p><p><i>The ones who only do two or three films a year, maybe,</i> Yibo replied. <i>I’m always working.</i> That year was more tightly budgeted than most, something for which his management team had apologized and promised him the next year would be less hectic.</p><p>He’d believe it when it happened. That was to say, he wouldn’t hold his breath.</p><p>By Wednesday he was already considering a request for a date with Xiao Zhan aside from any work obligation, but feeling conflicted about it.</p><p>Shouldn’t that mean he ought to ask Xiao Zhan to date him? Really date him, outside of a sugar baby arrangement?</p><p>Ridiculous, Yibo chided himself before he had any space to ponder the thought. He was an idol, still considered little fresh meat on the entertainment scene. He had years to go to prove himself and between endorsements, his commitment to a weekly film schedule, and landing drama roles, beyond that, he didn’t have time for a relationship.</p><p>Besides, Xiao Zhan was the kind of all-around good and beautiful person who deserved someone who could give him their full attention.</p><p>Wednesday night, Yibo’s manager sent him the details of an urgent weekend business trip to Shanghai. <i>Bring your boyfriend</i>, came the brusque injunction. <i>There’s a business dinner on Friday and a dinner party on Saturday.</i></p><p>Yibo stared at the message. Set his phone aside. Tried to occupy himself with something else, but re-heating takeout and watching CCTV wasn’t exactly scintillating entertainment. He ended up picking up his phone and sending a request for a weekend trip through the app to Xiao Zhan.</p><p>He opened their WeChat thread in the next instant, determined to give context. <i>My manager dropped a last-minute trip to Shanghai on me,</i> Yibo complained. </p><p><i>Oh no, sounds terrible,</i> Xiao Zhan replied, and added a laughing winky emoji. <i>I’m guessing that request I just saw from Sugar Rush means you’d like company?</i></p><p><i>If it’s not too much trouble.</i> Yibo was determined not to overplay his hand. One thing his friend Seungyoun warned him about a long time ago, when he was still barely eighteen, was that he came on too strong and too fast. And so, he’d gotten a string of rejections that meant, to date, Yibo had yet to secure what most people would term a ‘real’ relationship.</p><p><i>My manager said to bring my boyfriend</i>, Yibo added. He held his breath.</p><p><i>If you’d like to upgrade to boyfriend mode, I think that’s a separate conversation</i>, Xiao Zhan tackled it head-on, not keeping him in suspense. <i>Though I do think it’s a good sign she thought our chemistry was that good.</i></p><p>Yibo held his phone in his hands tight enough to make the plastic creak. That wasn’t a no, he noted. But it wasn’t a yes, either. He made a face, annoyed with himself.</p><p>He wanted to say, <i>I really like you.</i> He started to type that and backspaced, his annoyance deepening. He couldn’t say that after a single date the man had been paid to attend. Xiao Zhan would probably question his sanity.</p><p><i>Want to meet up for coffee?</i> he suggested instead. <i>To discuss the details. As a paid date, of course.</i></p><p>He sat and watched his phone but Xiao Zhan wasn’t typing. He held his breath. He didn’t want to try and put a call through. Should he have called him? Calling was always better, people always said.</p><p>Yibo loathed making phone calls.</p><p>Even his own mother could barely wrangle one a month out of him. Less, usually, because his schedule was so busy. But as he sat there, his chest congested with the sick notion that he’d pushed for too much, exposed himself for what he’d barely allowed himself to acknowledge, all he wanted to do was call Xiao Zhan and hear his voice.</p><p>When Xiao Zhan started typing at last, Yibo expelled a gasp of relief.</p><p><i>Sorry about that, Jianguo got herself tangled up in something and I had to rescue her. She cried so piteously!</i> He attached a photo of a solemn-looking Munchkin cat bound up in what looked like the remains of party streamers.</p><p>Yibo chuckled and set his chin in his palm. Before he could type a response, Xiao Zhan went on.</p><p>
  <i>Sure, I’d love to meet up. Right now?</i>
</p><p><i>I’m available right now,</i> Yibo replied. <i>Same place as before?</i></p><p>
  <i>It’s a date.</i>
</p><p>Yibo kept staring at those words long after he ought to. It didn’t mean anything, he told himself. Xiao Zhan was being polite. Xiao Zhan was sugar dating him. He needed the money, after all. Of course he was going to make himself agreeable and open.</p><p>It was genuine, Yibo sensed.</p><p>He got up to get himself ready and pushed the request for the coffee date through the app. He’d hold up his end of the deal, anyhow, and if he was getting something more out of it than a convenient partner on his arm, that was his own business.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I think we are going to do a twice weekly schedule! Though, I might get impatient and post the remaining three chapters next week. We'll see how it goes.</p><p>Happy Friday, everyone! Some YiZhan to smooth the way into the weekend.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Oh, to have a weekend in Shanghai with one's sugar didi.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>The hotel and bar I used as a setting in this chapter is a real place, with an amazing menu. I have been in stay-at-home mode since March and I really, really miss having amazing food at amazing restaurants.</p><p>The timeline for this story is slightly askew, you may note from the business meeting; it's an alternate universe 2020, but the commitments he's got planned for the next year are things he's done this year. It just worked out that way! This universe also got to skip the whole pandemic thing.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Xiao Zhan had been dying to travel out of Beijing for ages, stuck there with work obligations and due to his own lack of money, so Yibo’s offer of an all-expenses paid trip to Shanghai for a weekend and being compensated for the privilege was like a dream come true. He almost offered, during their coffee date, to be his weekend date for free, then remembered that Yibo requested him through the app.</p><p>He must want to keep the sugar dating arrangement, Xiao Zhan realized. If there was some hope of it developing into a relationship—upgrading to boyfriend status, as Xiao Zhan had so unsmoothly hinted at—wouldn’t Yibo have mentioned it when they met up for coffee?</p><p>That prospect occupied Xiao Zhan’s thoughts for the entire day between coffee and flying out of Beijing. He extended the prospect of discussing it, in response to Yibo calling him his boyfriend, and Yibo had failed to take the bait.</p><p>He hadn’t mentioned it in person or over WeChat since, and that was an answer on its own merit, Xiao Zhan reasoned.</p><p>That made him give himself a stern talking to about his expectations. Just because Xiao Zhan had felt a pull, an attraction beyond the transactional exchange of their sugar dating arrangement, didn’t mean it was something Yibo felt or wanted too. He was being hired to look good on Yibo’s arm and provide engaging conversation to cover up the fact that Yibo wasn’t so adept at it. It was business, and hadn’t Yibo told him that from the first?</p><p>He had to leave separately from the airport, not to avoid scrutiny but because Yibo’s schedule wouldn’t allow him to fly out at the same time. He apologized for it and Xiao Zhan assured him there was no need.</p><p>There was a driver waiting for Xiao Zhan at the Shanghai airport, and the check-in process was the smoothest he’d ever been through, facilitated by Yibo’s assistant having taken care of everything in advance. He gasped aloud when he was shown up to a suite so high up, it had a fantastic view of the city glittering below like jewels upended from a personal vault.</p><p>Yibo’s latest message on WeChat told him to relax, make himself at home, but Xiao Zhan was too keyed up to heed that. He ended up in the hotel’s gym downstairs, and did a few circuits of reps, arm and leg work, until he was sweaty but invigorated. He made use of the shower in the en suite upstairs, toweled his hair off and walked into the suite with a towel around his hips, and went to pull his outfit out of his suitcase. He’d brought two, a business casual outfit for the business dinner that night, and something fancier for the dinner party the next night.</p><p>The door clicked open and Xiao Zhan spun, putting a hand to his hip to make sure the towel was secure around him.</p><p>Yibo trudged into the room, head down, pulling his own roller case behind him. He looked up and stopped, eyes locked on him, mouth dropping open.</p><p>“Uh, hi,” Xiao Zhan offered. He bit his lip. He hoped Yibo wouldn’t take this as him trying to seduce him.</p><p>He really kind of wanted to, though.</p><p>Yibo’s eyes went past him and his brow creased. “There’s only one bed.”</p><p>Xiao Zhan glanced over his shoulder. With his nervous jitters, he hadn’t even noticed. “Ah, you meant to book one with two?”</p><p>Yibo’s eyes flicked back to him. “I wouldn’t put you in this position,” he said, low-voiced. “I’ll talk to Yu Ling. There must have been a mistake in the booking.”</p><p>“It’s fine,” Xiao Zhan replied. “We’re adults, Yibo. I hardly think you’ll take advantage of me if we share a bed.” He bit his lip and looked away.</p><p>That was skimming far too close to things he wanted—things that were without question off menu for the kind of arrangement they were under.</p><p>Yet if Yibo so much as hinted he wanted that from him, Xiao Zhan knew he’d delete the app in a heartbeat and throw himself at his feet. It seemed absurd to him that no one already had—but then, they had to get through an initial unpleasant shell.</p><p>Xiao Zhan had only been on two coffee dates and one evening gala with Yibo, but he could already tell Yibo’s brusque exterior hid a sly, humorous, thoughtful man. He was awkward with others at first, it was clear, but once he held some measure of trust, he was charming, if in a gawkish sort of way.</p><p>It was very appealing. At least, it was to Xiao Zhan.</p><p>“All right,” Yibo said, looking everywhere but him, and Xiao Zhan started, drawing back into himself as he realized it was Yibo accepting the inevitability of one bed. Even for a rich, well-connected celebrity, the inconvenience of changing rooms when they still had to get ready for the dinner ahead was probably too much. </p><p>“I’ll get dressed. Sorry about this,” Xiao Zhan apologized. “I wasn’t sure when to expect you.”</p><p>“No, it’s my fault. I should have let you know when I was coming,” Yibo muttered, dragging his case into the room and keeping his eyes averted.</p><p>Xiao Zhan put a tight smile on. That was that, then. If he didn’t even want to look, then there wasn’t much point in holding out hope for something more. He grabbed his clothes from the suitcase he’d laid open at the foot of the bed and retreated to the bathroom.</p><p>He eyed himself in the mirror, and scolded himself for the off-balance, slightly forlorn expression. He pasted on a pleasant, neutral look instead and got into his clothes. It was a pair of black dress pants and a black blazer with white detailing over a nice white shirt. The white turtleneck allowed focus for the simple silver jewelry he placed around his neck.</p><p>When he walked out of the bathroom, straightening the arms of his blazer, Yibo turned from the open suitcase he’d laid out over a chair and his eyes went up and down in a quick appraisal. He met Xiao Zhan’s eyes and his lips made a brief roll, the flick of his tongue pushing out from between his lips. His eyes lightened.</p><p>“You look good, but you’d look even better in Chanel,” Yibo said in a deep voice.</p><p>Xiao Zhan kept his pleasant face fixed on, though he wanted to shudder. He hadn’t imagined Yibo checking him out, had he? “Is that an offer?” he said, keeping it light, teasing.</p><p>A brief smile broke out across Yibo’s narrow face, making him seem a hundred times more approachable. “I’ll get you some,” he promised. “I’m in negotiations to be a brand ambassador. They send me tons of stuff, and we’re about the same size.”</p><p>Xiao Zhan bit his lip. “Ah, you don’t have to waste that on me…”</p><p>“It’ll look amazing on you,” Yibo said. “I wouldn’t end up wearing it all, anyhow. Indulge me.”</p><p>“If you insist,” Xiao Zhan said. It dawned on him in the next second that was what this was all about. He’d signed up to be spoiled by a man of means, and just because Yibo was younger didn’t mean he was unqualified. He ducked his head and sent a shy grin Yibo’s way. “Sorry, I’m not used to this.”</p><p>“Being spoiled, or taking weekend trips to Shanghai?” Yibo said dryly, but he seemed amused too.</p><p>“Both!”</p><p>He settled in a chair in the corner of the room and chatted with Yibo about his day as Yibo got ready for the party. Yibo told him he’d wanted them to fly out together, but his assistant Yu Ling had convinced him it would be more trouble than it was worth.</p><p>“If people start recognizing you, they might start bothering you,” Yibo said, sending a look over his shoulder at Xiao Zhan. “Let me know if that happens, okay? I might need to have a security guard assigned to you.”</p><p>Xiao Zhan raised his hands. “Surely that won’t be necessary?”</p><p>Yibo gave him a smirk, but it looked somewhat tired. “Zhan-ge still believes in basic human decency,” he intoned. “After being in the industry for ten years, that’s been more or less squashed out of me.”</p><p>“You sound jaded enough to be in your thirties instead of barely in your twenties,” Xiao Zhan noted.</p><p>Yibo shrugged, choosing between one silk shirt and another. He looked over at Xiao Zhan, sizing him up, and went with the white one that had a pair of long, loose strips of silk fluttering free from the neckline. “Most days, I feel thirty,” he replied. “Whatever. As long as I can act however they want me to act for the part I’ve signed up for, that’s all anyone cares about.”</p><p>Xiao Zhan looked away, thought very loudly that Yibo deserved someone, at least one person, who didn’t care whether he was acting but took him for who he was, and tried to keep that thought off his face as he kept it averted while Yibo shrugged out of his shirt with unselfconscious grace. He stripped like he was used to doing it without privacy, and that made Xiao Zhan realize, of course he was.</p><p>Halfway through he couldn’t help but sneak a look and took his phone out, half turning away from Yibo as the sight of those cut abs burned into his consciousness. He’d thought he saw a half smirk flash over Yibo’s face as he turned away.</p><p>“I don’t mind you looking,” Yibo said behind him.</p><p>“It hardly seems fair,” Xiao Zhan replied, meaning to finish his sentence, <i>when no one else in the general public gets to see you this way.</i></p><p>“I saw you wearing considerably less,” Yibo pointed out, and that made Xiao Zhan realize what he’d been talking about to begin with.</p><p>Xiao Zhan changed the subject about as gracefully as he drove manual transmission—practically dropping the gear while clutching. “Do we need to wear makeup for the business dinner? I didn’t bring any.”</p><p>“Don’t worry about it,” Yibo said. “You can turn around, now.”</p><p>Xiao Zhan did. It lessened the impact very little; Yibo was still breathtaking. He’d done up the strips of silk on the shirt in a loose Windsor knot that fell at his neckline. He was still wearing makeup from whatever booking he’d had before his flight, but it was light and natural.</p><p>“Zhan-ge doesn’t need makeup to look beautiful,” Yibo told him with assurance. Xiao Zhan snorted. “We should get going. We can settle in and have drinks before my business contacts arrive.”</p><p>“Where are we going?” Xiao Zhan asked. He hadn’t bothered to find out the name of the restaurant the day before. He’d never been a picky eater; there was always something on a menu he could eat and enjoy.</p><p>Yibo smirked at him and pointed a finger straight up.</p><p>“The roof?” Xiao Zhan guessed. </p><p>Yibo nodded. “It has a fantastic view of the city, or so I’m told. Seems to be something of a status thing to have drinks at the Flair at sunset. Also, I hope you like Japanese food.”</p><p>“I love it,” Xiao Zhan said, grinning. He hadn’t gotten the chance to indulge in far too long.</p><p>Yibo’s expression was indecipherable for a moment before he reached out one hand, picking up a slim-cut white blazer from his suitcase. “Then, let’s go.”</p><p>In the elevator, they were alone. Xiao Zhan’s hand was in Yibo’s. It felt dwarfed by the size of Yibo’s large, elegantly shaped fingers, and that seemed way hotter to him than it should be. He moved his hand in Yibo’s until he could slot their fingers together and regain some semblance of control, and caught a tight but not displeased smile from Yibo out of the corner of his eye.</p><p>“How affectionate do you want me to be?” Xiao Zhan asked. They hadn’t had time to discuss it the day before, going mostly over details of the trip and logistics of what would be involved.</p><p>“Hm,” Yibo responded, putting his head to one side in a considering manner. “As affectionate as you want to be, I suppose? Be yourself. Just, not clingy.”</p><p>Xiao Zhan nodded. “I’m not a clingy person,” he replied.</p><p>The smile Yibo turned on him now was amused. “I didn’t think you were the sticky type.”</p><p>As predicted, they were the first to the rooftop. A man in dark clothes that Xiao Zhan initially thought to be a doorman followed them through and he realized as the man settled a discreet distance away from them at the bar that he had to be security.</p><p>It had to be suffocating, living in a glass cage, Xiao Zhan thought, but at the same time the view from up high was breathtaking.</p><p>Yibo’s business dinner turned out to be a couple of directors and producers who were trying to woo him for an upcoming season of a show. Given Yibo’s schedule for the next year was already so tight, he wasn’t sure he could promise them the commitment it would take for a full season.</p><p>Xiao Zhan introduced himself, kept his hand in Yibo’s, and had very little reason to speak as Yibo spoke with the producers. They seemed willing to make some accommodations, but of course that sort of promise could only stretch so far. Yibo explained how he was already booked back to back for two dramas, a couple of guest appearances, and he had an ongoing commitment to Hunan Broadcast that was already very accommodating of his schedule but a contractual obligation nonetheless.</p><p>“It’s not a ‘no,’” Yibo explained to them with a brief but decisive gesture over drinks. “But it would be a very conditional yes. I don’t know that I’m worth all the effort it would take to put up with that when you could get someone more easily with less constraints.”</p><p>That set up a clamor from the directors about how Yibo was worth all the effort they could exert if only he’d agree, and Xiao Zhan could see how it irritated Yibo in the way his face went smooth and blank, but one of his brows was slightly crooked.</p><p>“It’s not Yibo’s willingness that’s in question, at all,” Xiao Zhan put in. Both directors and one of the producers regarded him in surprise—probably at his audacity for speaking up. “We all know how deep his roots are in dance culture. Still, there will be blocks you must have him scheduled and on set, and at this point, the window for that might be more narrow than you are comfortable with, in the end.”</p><p>He glanced to the side, making sure he hadn’t overstepped, and Yibo was giving him a dropped-mouth, slightly dazed look. It made Xiao Zhan want to kiss him, so he turned his attention hurriedly back to the producers.</p><p>All he’d done, really, was repeated what Yibo had said but prettied it up some in terms that producers would take to heart.</p><p>“What if we shifted around some of the schedule blocks?” one of the producers said.</p><p>Xiao Zhan raised a brow. “You’re willing to change the scheduling to try and lock down Yibo?” He emphasized the ‘try,’ because of course, Yibo and his manager would have final say.</p><p>“We don’t have Wang-laoshi’s time commitments,” the younger man said. “Our schedule isn’t set at this point, so it’s easier for us to work around it.”</p><p>“But we are motivated to make it work,” the director added with an eager smile. </p><p>Xiao Zhan sat back and glanced at Yibo, giving his hand a squeeze. The ball was in his court.</p><p>“Let’s put in our orders for now, and fill him in on the theme and some of the things we’ve got planned,” one of the producers said, taking a tactical step back from the pressuring atmosphere.</p><p>The menu was more varied than Xiao Zhan had been led to believe. There was some expensive stuff on there, a Wagyu beef sirloin among them. They ended up ordering some sushi and appetizers to share—like a real couple, Xiao Zhan couldn’t help but needle himself—and one of the producers asked how long they’d been together.</p><p>That one, they were both prepared for; they had agreed the relationship was as new as their off-the-record association through the app.</p><p>“Oh,” the producer said with a bemused smile. “I would have thought you’ve been together much longer.”</p><p>“Well, I was dating Cheng Xiao until recently,” Yibo replied.</p><p>Xiao Zhan put his hand over Yibo’s on the table. Yibo turned his hand over beneath his, inviting Xiao Zhan to thread their fingers together again, which he did.</p><p>“Excuse me for saying so, it’s truly not meant as anything against you, or her,” one of the directors said. “But you have much better chemistry with Xiao-xiansheng.”</p><p>“Please, just Xiao Zhan is fine,” Xiao Zhan protested.</p><p>“Thank you,” was all Yibo said, but Xiao Zhan leaned over and noted the tips of his ears had turned pink.</p><p>Perhaps he’d had too much alcohol.</p><p>They were halfway through their meal and having an impromptu battle over choice pieces of sashimi when Xiao Zhan looked over into Yibo’s playfully smiling face and it hit him like a punch.</p><p>He liked Yibo.</p><p>He <i>really</i> liked him.</p><p>Shit.</p><p>His stomach dropped out from under him and for a second it was like he was floating untethered above the rooftop view, looking down at himself giving Wang Yibo a ridiculous, besotted grin and blocking him as he went for the last piece of abalone. He recoiled into his body with a painful snap and the smile on his face hurt, but he kept it up until Yibo looked away, fishing up a peony prawn to offer him in trade.</p><p>Xiao Zhan bit his lip.</p><p>“Fine, you can have the abalone if you want it that badly,” Yibo said with a slight frown.</p><p>“No, it’s fine,” Xiao Zhan said, almost inaudible.</p><p>Yibo pursed his lips. “What if I don’t want it anymore?”</p><p>Xiao Zhan huffed, but he moved his hand to pluck the abalone up before Yibo could make an issue of it. Of course, he’d take it. </p><p>He was more or less locked in, now. He’d take whatever Yibo offered, until Yibo no longer wanted it anymore.</p><div class="center">
  <p>***</p>
</div>The night that Yibo had more or less been expecting to be awkward had once again been smoothed and made better by Xiao Zhan’s presence.<p>He’d been too obvious, he thought, when he ended up staring at Zhan-ge, completely hot for him and how well he’d negotiated for him on his behalf. Then and there, Yibo had to come to terms with the fact if there was a relationship upgrade option through Sugar Rush, he would hit it so fast he’d crack his phone screen.</p><p>That wasn’t the kind of relationship they had, though. He’d been very clear with Xiao Zhan from the start this was a business arrangement. And he shouldn’t mistake Xiao Zhan’s diligence, his friendliness, for anything more.</p><p>Someone who wanted a relationship…they had to go about it the normal way, the old-fashioned way. Where they talked to other people and communicated what they wanted.</p><p>Yibo was only good with that type of exchange when it came to work.</p><p>He thought back with wistful longing to the joke Xiao Zhan had made the day before about upgrading to boyfriend mode. If that was possible as an option…</p><p>He’d have to settle for paying for trips like this, leaning in close to split a sushi platter with him, and offering him the last spoonful of a decadent dessert that Yibo definitely wasn’t supposed to have. When Xiao Zhan’s face had lit up seeing it on the dessert menu, though, he’d been helpless to do anything but order it.</p><p>He’d noticed Xiao Zhan had kept his dinner cocktail limited to one, and Yibo had followed his lead. By the time they bid the direction and production staff good night for the evening, Yibo wasn’t even the slightest bit tipsy, but he clung to Xiao Zhan’s waist as they made their way out of the restaurant back to the elevator.</p><p>It was what he was allowed.</p><p>They were the only two people in the elevator on the way down. Yibo leaned in, his hand still on Xiao Zhan’s waist, and watched his eyes dilate. His jawline leading back toward his ears was a little flushed, making Yibo remember he’d told him he was a lightweight. That was why he’d stuck to one drink, Yibo realized.</p><p>“Thank you,” Yibo murmured.</p><p>Xiao Zhan turned wide eyes on him. “For what? I didn’t do very much…”</p><p>Yibo bit his lip, searching for the right words. “For coming with me, to begin with,” he settled on at last. “It put me at ease. And straightened things out with their production so I may have a real chance.”</p><p>Xiao Zhan relaxed into a sweet smile. His fingers settled in the crook of Yibo’s arm, gripping there. “Glad I could help.”</p><p>Yibo studied his face for a second longer and nodded.</p><p>He wanted to lean in and kiss him. Xiao Zhan was looking over at him with such mild, trusting eyes that Yibo couldn’t justify it to himself. There was no one else around to put on a show for, after all.</p><p>The elevator chime startled him out of his desire to lean in, despite himself, and he pulled his hand away from Xiao Zhan’s waist like he’d been burned. All he’d wanted to do was pull him in close. He thought, almost, right then Xiao Zhan would have let him.</p><p>He couldn’t take advantage of this illusion of closeness.</p><p>They settled in for the night and the bed was so big, they turned in on opposite sides with plenty of space between them by the time Yibo was finally able to close his eyes and sleep.</p><p>He woke up on his side with warmth and the gentle pressure of touch draped against his backside. Yibo opened his eyes, blinked, and reached for his phone on the nightstand. He turned his camera into selfie mode and caught sight of Xiao Zhan’s sleeping face nestled behind him, so close they were sharing Yibo’s pillow.</p><p>With deep regret, he refrained from taking a photo. He set his phone aside after checking and making certain he had no commitments for the day.</p><p>Yibo allowed himself the rare treat of falling back asleep. The speed with which he sank into slumber let him know he probably had more of a sleep deficit than he ought to.</p><p>The next time he woke, bright light poured into the room even through the defense of curtains that had been drawn and Yibo was alone in bed. He sat up, rubbing at his eyes. Xiao Zhan was in the chair off to one corner, and he looked up from his phone with a polite, reserved smile when he met Yibo’s eyes.</p><p>Right. Because Yibo was paying him. Not because there was anything more between them.</p><p>Yibo was irritated with himself. He ought to have disengaged himself from Xiao Zhan’s embrace when he first woke up, rather than letting it go on for the man to discover when he broke his own slumber.</p><p>“Sorry, have you been up long?” Yibo asked, voice raspy with sleep.</p><p>Xiao Zhan’s eyes flicked back to his phone and returned to Yibo’s. “Not long. I didn’t want to wake you—figured you would have set an alarm, if you had an appointment.”</p><p>“Not only that, but Lele would be banging on my door by now,” Yibo confirmed.</p><p>“Don’t tell me. Do you actually have a day off?” Xiao Zhan asked, wide-eyed.</p><p>Yibo tried not to smile, but Xiao Zhan’s disaffected manner couldn’t help but pull him out of it. “Seems that way.”</p><p>“What’s the plan?” Xiao Zhan set his phone aside.</p><p>Yibo sat up, bunching the covers around his waist, and savored the way Xiao Zhan looked at him, then away. At least there was that, he consoled himself. He was attractive in that way to Xiao Zhan, if not personality-wise.</p><p>“I figure, we can have a decadent breakfast here in the room, then I want to take you out for a day of shopping,” Yibo said.</p><p>Xiao Zhan’s brow creased. “How could you possibly need more…” He began.</p><p>“For you,” Yibo clarified. “I’m going to buy you some couture.”</p><p>Xiao Zhan looked briefly worried. “Lao Wang, this isn’t ‘Pretty Woman’; I don’t need you to buy me couture.”</p><p>“I’d like to get you enough of a varied wardrobe to attend more events like this,” Yibo clarified, and that made Xiao Zhan bite his lip. “Zhan-ge, what did you think a sugar daddy does? It’s not limited to only dates. I’d like to buy you things. And don’t worry, I can afford it.”</p><p>“All right,” Xiao Zhan said. He relaxed and even offered Yibo a smile. “If I see any price tags that are too high, though, I won’t let you.”</p><p>That was cause for a distinct smirk. “Where we’re going shopping, there are no price tags.”</p><p>They had an excellent Western-style breakfast in the hotel where once again Yibo blew through his typical calorie allotment for a meal, but he figured he’d make it up walking during the rest of the day. As promised, they spent the rest of the day shopping in upscale boutiques the general public had no access to, and were feted everywhere they went with coffee and snacks. By the time lunch rolled around, neither of them was even hungry.</p><p>Yibo’s main goal was to secure something for Xiao Zhan to wear that evening, and in that, they succeeded. He showed a particular affinity for Gucci, and Yibo bought about everything that made his eyes light up, which was almost half a collection. His other goal was a pair of good dress shoes for Xiao Zhan to wear at any future galas. For his part, he got to have a stress-free day of watching Xiao Zhan smile and scold him by turns.</p><p>At one point, when Xiao Zhan tried earnestly to tell him he didn’t need a beautiful watch he’d been staring at, Yibo took him by the arms.</p><p>“You want that watch,” he said.</p><p>Xiao Zhan shut his mouth, swallowed, and nodded.</p><p>“I’m going to buy you the watch,” Yibo said in a tone that brooked no argument.</p><p>Xiao Zhan regarded him with wide eyes. “Okay.”</p><p>“I’m spoiling you, okay?” Yibo looked at him until he nodded, then he smiled.</p><p>Xiao Zhan smiled, too. “I’m really bad at this,” he said, rubbing his nose. His tone was sheepish.</p><p>Yibo grinned. “I’ll have to make sure you get used to it, then.”</p><p>All in all, Yibo thought, the day was a success. He managed to get everything he’d mentally had on his list to buy for and a few nice extras to spoil him with, besides. He ended up not paying much attention to his phone until later when they settled in for another round of coffee and a very late, light lunch. </p><p>He scrolled through his latest round of messages with an impatient finger as Xiao Zhan sipped at his coffee beside him. He would have preferred not to look at his phone at all, given the companionship of the man beside him, but he knew it would be more miserable later if he didn’t at least sort and categorize, deleting everything he could, saving the top priorities as unmarked for later. Xiao Zhan had taken out his, too, and he was reviewing his own phone with a cute grimace.</p><p>Yibo was still sorting through a few of the emails at the top of his inbox and deciding whether one from his manager merited immediate response when Xiao Zhan leaned across the space between them and gripped the fabric of Yibo’s sleeve near his elbow, tugging.</p><p>“Hm?” Yibo looked up right away, setting his phone aside. Xiao Zhan was leaning toward him with a conspirator’s expression.</p><p>“There’s shishengs,” Xiao Zhan said, cutting his eyes to the side without moving his head.</p><p>Yibo nodded and leaned in close to Xiao Zhan, using his peripheral vision. They were in an upscale bistro with private terraced seating, but even in such places there were still shishengs that could get an adjacent terrace and aim their phones at him to his heart’s content. His mouth began to purse in annoyance and he glanced back at Xiao Zhan, who was looking at his lower lip with an unfocused expression.</p><p>“So there are,” Yibo agreed, and gave him a slightly wicked smile. “Want to give them a show?”</p><p>Xiao Zhan’s eyes dragged up to meet his and he responded with a dazed blink. “Sure?”</p><p>Yibo gave him a quick smile and reached up to the back of his neck, fingers cradling the base of his skull as he drew Xiao Zhan the remaining distance between them into a kiss. Xiao Zhan’s mouth trembled against his and parted, and Yibo delved his tongue inside at that silent invitation.</p><p>His angry thoughts toward the shishengs dissolved at once.</p><p>He cupped Xiao Zhan’s neck and explored his mouth, licking out the taste of sweetened iced coffee that clung to the silky inner lining of cheek and the slick tongue against his, cool from the coffee he’d been drinking. It warmed up quickly enough as he kissed Yibo back, pressing forward a little with his eagerness.</p><p>When Yibo drew back somewhat, Xiao Zhan made a small, protesting noise and followed, capturing his lips again.</p><p>Yibo huffed against Xiao Zhan’s mouth and kissed back, allowing himself the pure enjoyment of his kisses while he could.</p><p>That was a bonus for Yibo himself. He’d be glad enough to pay for it.</p><p>They only parted when the server brought their lunch to the table, and that much was slow enough Yibo could only believe Xiao Zhan was reluctant as he was to draw away. Xiao Zhan sat up straight in his seat, combing his hair back with a hand. Yibo glanced toward the shishengs again and suppressed a smile to see a manager escorting them from the prized terrace seating. He hadn’t even had to say anything about it, and he’d gotten to enjoy Xiao Zhan’s excellent kisses again as well.</p><p>“Sorry to impose on you,” Yibo said when their food was delivered and the server excused himself.</p><p>“Wh—” Xiao Zhan frowned and cocked his head at him. “Yibo, it’s no hardship to kiss you, you know.”</p><p>“All right,” Yibo said agreeably, not willing to argue. The complaints certainly outweighed the compliments.</p><p>“What will it take for you to believe you’re a good kisser?” Xiao Zhan said. He picked up a chopstick and twirled it, looking curious rather than adversarial.</p><p><i>For you to ask for one</i> Yibo thought, and didn’t dare say. “Eat up,” he replied, nodding to Xiao Zhan’s plate. “We have just enough time to finish lunch and hit one more store.”</p><p>Xiao Zhan tossed a grumpy look his way, but picked up his other chopstick and settled them in his hand.</p><p>Yibo bent his attention to his food and contemplated the likelihood of having more days like this, with nothing but good company and food and an outing with no pressures or obligations.</p><p>The next week was going to be booked full for Yibo, and he was already dreading it after the freedom of a single day. It was work he enjoyed, though, so despite the hectic pace he’d content himself with that.</p><p>That evening’s dinner party was with a prospective endorsement deal. It was all but locked down, Yibo’s manager had assured him. All he had to do was show up, look pretty, be affable—for him—and it was a done deal. Having Xiao Zhan on his arm would only improve his chances, she’d remarked. A boyfriend would make him far more marketable than the gala and red carpet-only relationship he’d publicly conducted with Cheng Xiao.</p><p>Yibo didn’t personally see why it made that much of a difference, but he was willing to go along.</p><p>The dinner party turned out to be a yacht event. Xiao Zhan clung to his arm every time he felt the sway of the yacht underfoot; they circulated with glasses of champagne on the forward deck in the cool night air, and it turned out to be a very good night indeed.</p><p>Yibo spent most of his night talking with Zhan-ge, though Xiao Zhan did steer them back and forth between every circle present and kept poking him in the ribs and reminding him to smile.</p><p>They fed one another hors d’oeuvres, and at one point when Xiao Zhan was leaning in to chuckle with him over a stupid joke he’d made, a play on words, a woman in an elegant silver cocktail dress whose face Yibo vaguely remembered paused to compliment them.</p><p>“You two make such a sweet couple,” she praised, pausing with a hand at her collarbone and a smile that crinkled her eyes upward.</p><p>“Ah, Zhao-guniang, thank you so much!” Xiao Zhan thanked her, inclining his head and upper body.</p><p>“I’ve never seen Yibo look so happy at any other event,” Zhao Liying praised, and that made Yibo’s recognition snap into place—he’d been cast on a drama with her that would begin filming in the next year, but they had only been onstage together once.</p><p>“Ah, well,” Xiao Zhan said. He gave Yibo a wide, brilliant smile. “I like him a lot, Zhao-guniang. He makes me laugh, and I try to make him feel the same.”</p><p>She gave them an approving nod and moved off, and Yibo tried not to stare at Xiao Zhan as a needle of longing pierced him. </p><p>He wanted it to be true. He wanted this to be <i>real</i>. And he was a fool, for taking Xiao Zhan’s pretty words at face value when he was providing exactly the service Yibo had contracted with him for, to begin with.</p><p>Yet he wanted the lie to be reality.</p><p>He kept a firm grip on Xiao Zhan’s arm for the rest of the evening, but didn’t escalate, even when there was a windswept moment by the prow of the ship that would have been perfect to steal a kiss and claim it was for his image. Yibo wasn’t going to take more from Xiao Zhan than he was willing to give of his own will.</p><p>Not now, when he was aware of his own growing feelings.</p><p>“That went well, I thought,” Xiao Zhan said at the end of the night when they’d returned to the hotel. </p><p>Their hair was mussed, they both smelled of the ocean, and the petit fours he’d eaten against his better judgment were sitting like lead in his stomach, but overall Yibo had to agree.</p><p>“Do you want first shower?” Xiao Zhan asked. “Or are you too tired?”</p><p>Yibo shook his head and mechanically started pulling his clothes off, realizing his mis-step when Xiao Zhan whirled, his face flaming. For his own part, Yibo had no body modesty any longer. He was too used to stripping down to his underwear for fittings, taking his shirt off to get a mic put on, that sort of thing.</p><p>It was somewhat humiliating to have a handsome man turn away from him, though. Yibo set his shirt aside and went to the bathroom to finish disrobing in there and spare poor Xiao Zhan’s modesty.</p><p>He could still remember how Xiao Zhan looked, stripped to the waist, from the day before. It was seared into his brain. He was only a little ashamed when he pulled up that vision in his head and jerked off, quick and efficient, letting it wash down the drain.</p><p>Like his chances, Yibo told himself, more than a bit maudlin about it.</p><p>“Your turn,” he told Xiao Zhan in clipped tones when he emerged from the bathroom in a robe and a cloud of steam. He went straight for the bed, pulled his sleeping clothes on—usually he slept naked, but he’d brought boxers and a tank top anticipating they would be in the same room, if not in the same bed.</p><p>By the time the bathroom door opened again, Yibo was settled into his side of the bed, face buried in his pillow, the light on his side clicked off. He pretended to be asleep while Xiao Zhan moved around the room on quiet feet.</p><p>“Good night,” Xiao Zhan whispered when he slipped into bed behind him.</p><p>Yibo made a face into the soft fabric of his pillow, swallowed down his unwanted desires, and did his best to fall asleep as fast as possible.</p><p>Sleep took a long time to claim him that night.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Response to this story has been awesome, you have all blown me away, thank you so much!</p><p>By way of appreciation I'll be posting the remaining three chapters this week for certain. Still undecided if it will be Wednesday/Friday or possibly Thursday/Saturday.</p><p>Thanks for reading! ♥ Let me know your favorite part of this chapter, pretty please? I added a couple of scenes last-minute and I'd love to see how they hit.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>In which they have even  more feelings, and even more kisses, and even more misunderstandings.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Sunday, Xiao Zhan let himself do nothing but sleep in, play with Jianguo, go out on his workout routine, and watch television. He replayed his days in Shanghai with Yibo in his head on an endless loop, and winced several times over how close he must have come to embarrassing himself. He must have been obvious with his emotions, more than once, and Yibo had either not noticed or he was used to everyone looking at him with shining, overeager eyes.</p><p>Possibly the second one, and he’d steeled himself to ignore it.</p><p>Xiao Zhan had notifications piling up that he refused to look at with iron will, though he did check his Sugar Rush app multiple times throughout the day. He got several pings, which excited him at first until he realized they were offers from men who weren’t Yibo.</p><p>He’d switched out his profile photos so that none were actual pictures of his face anymore, but his throat in profile, his hands, even one photo of himself in a mask giving Jianguo a nuzzle. He didn’t want anyone to recognize him as Yibo’s date, even though the app promised strict discretion or termination of services.</p><p>One of his notifications was payment from Yibo for the weekend, and it was a handsome sum. Like before, Yibo had tipped him by an extravagant and unnecessary amount. He had tipped that much for only a handful of kisses – and Xiao Zhan had been inviting that in the moment with every ounce of his being.</p><p>There had been another moment on the yacht when Yibo had been so close, their elbows brushing, leaning in toward one another to speak above the wind and the noise of the engine. Xiao Zhan had really wanted to pull him in and kiss him right then. The only thing that had stopped him was his desire to stick to Yibo’s lead when they were in public.</p><p>He declined his other offers with a polite thank you, not interested. One blasted back with a rude message that Xiao Zhan stared at for a moment before blocking and reporting the man.</p><p>He was definitely not in a position to handle sugar dating more than one person, Xiao Zhan decided then and there.</p><p>Later in the day he did his budget again, plugging in the numbers from his sugar dates, and sighed. It got him in the clear for the immediate short term, but within a couple of months the business would be in trouble again.</p><p>Xiao Zhan raked a hand through his hair and glared at the spreadsheet. That meant he had to keep up the sugar dating if he wanted to keep his business.</p><p>It was fine, he consoled himself. Yibo had indicated interest in a long-term arrangement. That would be better all around, wouldn’t it?</p><p>By Monday, he grabbed his usual coffee on the way to work but he’d done a one-eighty back into despair. He trudged into the office and over to Xuan Lu’s desk with heavy steps and sighed as he stood there until she looked up with a frantic expression.</p><p>“We have a problem,” she said, as he sighed again and confessed to her, “I have a problem.”</p><p>Xuan Lu’s eyes widened and she gestured to the chair across from her desk. “Zhanzhan? What’s going on?”</p><p>Xiao Zhan collapsed into the guest seat, kicking his legs out until his shins knocked against her desk. He hadn’t slept well, the coffee wasn’t fully circulating through his system, and he had caught sight of himself in enough reflective surfaces to know he looked terrible.</p><p>“You first,” he said generously, because she’d said ‘we.’ Anything at that level meant the business, whereas he could deal with his personal problems on his own.</p><p>He probably <i>wouldn’t</i>, but he was technically capable of it.</p><p>“We are getting slammed with inquiries, and I don’t have time to sort out what’s trolling or fishing from what might be genuine offers,” Xuan Lu said.</p><p>Xiao Zhan blinked. “Did you just say…we have too much potential business?”</p><p>She gave him a hard smile. “You sound like you’re making fun, but yes. We need someone to filter through all this. We don’t have an administrative assistant.”</p><p>“Right, I was putting that off because…didn’t need one,” Xiao Zhan said, giving a vague wave with his coffee cup. “Lulu? What happened?”</p><p>Xuan Lu had never given him such a look in her life. It was difficult to pick out what was more prominent: incredulity, exasperation, or confusion. “Zhanzhan, have you had your phone off all weekend?”</p><p>“Close enough; I was with Yibo in Shanghai all weekend,” he said, then winced.</p><p>She screeched. “You went out of town with him? Why didn’t you tell me!”</p><p>He rubbed at his nose and gave her sheepish eyes. “It was kind of a last-minute thing?” He should have mentioned it to her during the work day on Friday, he knew, but she’d been so concerned about his even going to the gala that it had occurred to him to mention it to her, then he’d figured she would worry, so he didn’t bring it up.</p><p>“Whatever; that’s not important right now,” she decided with a flip of her hand. “Or…maybe it is. It’s all tied together, Zhanzhan. They found your Oasis.”</p><p>“They,” Xiao Zhan echoed. “Yeah, I knew about that.”</p><p>“And a lot of them found our start-up,” Xuan Lu added. “You know. With our email address?”</p><p>Xiao Zhan inhaled. “Got it. We’ve been flooded by the masses.”</p><p>“A lot of it is idle curiosity,” Xuan Lu continued. “I’ve junked so many emails. But there are so, so many more. And so far, a couple of them seem to be from firms that paged through your sample work and really do need a graphic designer—I left those to you to answer.”</p><p>“But we need an administrative assistant,” Xiao Zhan concluded.</p><p>Xuan Lu gave a glum nod. “I don’t know if the numbers will support it, but the volume sure does. Without some extra help, you and I are going to be completely unproductive for the deadlines we have.”</p><p>Mentally, Xiao Zhan erased the buffer he’d gained over the weekend with his sugar date money. “Got it,” he said. “Do you want to keep answering emails today, or put up the hiring ad?”</p><p>Xuan Lu put her head to one side. “If you don’t mind, I’d rather be in charge of putting out the word and hiring.”</p><p>They shared a look, then chimed in unison, “Zhanzhan is too nice.”</p><p>Xiao Zhan chuckled and sipped at his coffee as Xuan Lu gave him a conciliatory smile.</p><p>“No, you’re right. You’ll be stricter than me when it comes to hiring criteria,” Xiao Zhan said. </p><p>She gave him a firm nod and reached for a pen, tapping it over her desk calendar. “Zhanzhan, what’s your problem, then?”</p><p>“Huh?” Xiao Zhan put on a guileless smile. “Ah, don’t worry about it, Lulu. I’ll go get started on those emails. You said you didn’t respond to those two potential leads?”</p><p>Xuan Lu narrowed her eyes at him. “Spill it.”</p><p>“Ah, really, it’s nothing,” he faltered. That sealed the deal, didn’t it? They needed additional income not only to stay afloat but to support the new hire they were going to have to take on.</p><p>He was going to have to keep sugar dating Yibo. Besides, it wasn’t like he had any indication Yibo felt something deeper for him.</p><p>“Zhanzhan…” Xuan Lu said. She sighed. “Let’s catch up at lunch, all right? We can get a boxed lunch from around the corner and sit in the park to get fresh air. Then you can tell me your woes.”</p><p>“It’s nothing,” Xiao Zhan repeated, willing it to be true. “Really. Let’s get to work. We’ve both got a lot to do.”</p><p>She cast a dubious look over her shoulder as he made his way to his desk, but let it go.</p><p>It wasn’t long before he was immersed in a torrent of emails. Time would tell whether trending on Weibo did their business any good rather than being a massive drag. As he opened and deleted one email after another, several of them asking about Yibo’s dick size or habits in bed, all he could think was it was more nuisance than anything else.</p><p>He still wouldn’t have traded attending that gala with Yibo for anything, though.</p><p>Around midday, Xuan Lu called him over to her desk, where a delivery man was standing with two big bags in his hand.</p><p>“Boss? Did you order this?” Xuan Lu asked in a bemused tone.</p><p>Xiao Zhan looked at the name on the side of the bag, recognizing the name of a fancy Japanese restaurant. <i>Oh</i>, he thought, reflecting back to the moment Yibo had taken him by the arms and said, in full seriousness, <i>“I’m spoiling you, okay?”</i></p><p>“No, but I know who did,” he replied, giving the delivery man a nod. “Thank you. Lulu, we might need to have Ji Li over for lunch to help us out with all of this.”</p><p>“I’ll ask him if he’s free,” Xuan Lu said as Xiao Zhan moved to accept the delivery. “I guess we won’t be needing a boxed lunch, after all.”</p><p>“Have a good day!” the man said, touching the brim of his cap, and Xiao Zhan nodded thanks again.</p><p>After he set the food down, he sent an immediate message to Yibo via WeChat.</p><p><i>I see what you did here,</i> he told Yibo, who sent back a meme of his own face looking huge-eyed and innocent. It made Xiao Zhan laugh.</p><p><i>I accept it! Everything looks amazing and fresh.</i> Xiao Zhan smiled as he watched the indicator that Yibo was typing.</p><p><i>I told you, I’d make sure you get used to it,</i> Yibo replied.</p><p>Xiao Zhan bit his lip against a hopeless grin. He knew he was accepting his due from Yibo, more or less, but he couldn’t help but feel genuine warmth behind the offering.</p><p><i>Besides, I have a feeling Zhan-ge forgets to eat when he’s working</i>, Yibo added, and Xiao Zhan could all but see his cheeky grin.</p><p><i>Who says??</i> Xiao Zhan shot back, and laughed out loud when Yibo’s laughing face meme came back through almost right away.</p><p>“Ah,” Xuan Lu said, leaning back in her chair and looking over at him. “I see.”</p><p>“I see a great lunch spread,” Xiao Zhan shot back. “Let’s get started while it’s fresh, okay?”</p><p>“Mm,” Xuan Lu responded. Her eyes were gentle and understanding.</p><p>Xiao Zhan could only shrug. If he found himself liking Yibo more than he ought to, that was his issue to deal with.</p><div class="center">
  <p>***</p>
</div>After three days back in Beijing, Yu Ling notified him that he had a rare evening off, and Yibo played on his phone during his morning meeting, trying to figure out what to do with himself. He’d tried to banish the very first thought that had occurred to him, but it kept resurfacing.<p>At last, he opened up his WeChat thread with Xiao Zhan and stared at it, but his typing thumbs remained motionless.</p><p>“Yibo,” his manager said, calling Yibo from his introspection. “Something on your mind?”</p><p>That got Yibo to close his phone and pay attention, more or less. His upcoming schedule would be busy for the next couple of weeks again. But he did have tonight.</p><p>At last, on his way from the meeting to an afternoon photoshoot, Yibo opened up the Sugar Rush app and sent a request for a date over to Xiao Zhan, unable to resist the lure of it anymore.</p><p>He knew it was dangerous. He liked Xiao Zhan, and he wanted to see him again—for himself, not for any event or booking in particular. But he shouldn’t get used to it, having someone to rely on like a significant other, because he was already getting too attached.</p><p>Just like Cheng Xiao, it could be over like the snap of his fingers if Xiao Zhan decided there was someone he liked better.</p><p>Before Yibo could get maudlin over it, he got a notification from Sugar Rush that Xiao Zhan had accepted his request for a date.</p><p><i>What do you have in mind?</i> Xiao Zhan sent over to him in WeChat.</p><p><i>I have the night off,</i> Yibo replied. <i>Would you want to come over to my place?</i></p><p>There was a long time before another reply came through. Yibo scowled at his phone, opened a game, got bored with it right away and closed it, and sat there looking at WeChat again. Xiao Zhan wasn’t even typing.</p><p>It wasn’t until later, during a break at the photoshoot, that Yibo checked his phone and got a response.</p><p><i>Do you want me to make you dinner?</i> </p><p>It hit him then, creating a soft spot as it lodged between his ribs, that no one had come over to his apartment to make him dinner. No one had, in fact, made him dinner—a meal created just for him—with their own two hands for as long as he could remember. Not a family meal, like he’d had in the dorms with his idol brothers, or the nightly dinners with his parents that he could barely remember.</p><p>This was one person, cooking for him. Yibo grimaced as he looked down at his phone. It seemed too intimate. He hadn’t earned it.</p><p>But for a night, he could pay for an illusion. He closed his eyes for a second, throat working as he swallowed. He’d take it, even if this was all he could have.</p><p>He could afford it, so he’d pay to pretend for a little while.</p><p><i>Yes, if it’s not too much trouble,</i> Yibo replied.</p><p><i>Great! I’d make hotpot, but I think you said you don’t like spicy, and I love it</i>, Xiao Zhan sent back.</p><p>Yibo was touched he remembered. <i>I’m from Henan, we like our noodles and our garlic</i>, he replied. <i>Hotpot is great but not that crazy Sichuan stuff!</i></p><p><i>It’s fine, Lao Wang, I know a good garlic noodle dish</i>, Xiao Zhan replied. <i>Then we can both enjoy our dinner.</i></p><p>Yibo smiled down at his phone and sent back some cheeky stickers in response. <i>And lots of coriander!</i></p><p>
  <i>Sure, plenty of that too.</i>
</p><p>“Chatting with Xiao Zhan again?”</p><p>Yibo turned his screen off and glanced up into Yu Ling’s knowing eyes. “What makes you say that?”</p><p>“You’re smiling,” she replied.</p><p>“I smile,” Yibo said, defensive.</p><p>“There’s a difference between your obligatory smiles and your real ones,” she said, and before he could think of a comeback, she sashayed off to get him a drink.</p><p>Yibo turned back to his WeChat without hesitating.</p><p><i>You’ll have to tell me where</i>, Xiao Zhan had replied in the meantime. <i> And when, of course. Don’t want to show up too early this time.</i></p><p>After sending details, Yibo shut his phone off and schooled his face into a careful smile. When Yu Ling returned with tea, she looked at him and rolled her eyes.</p><p>It was going to be a long afternoon.</p><div class="center">
  <p>***</p>
</div>“Wow,” Xiao Zhan said, looking up, and up, with a gulp. His hands were full with grocery bags, but it didn’t matter. There was a man at the front door who sprang into action, opening it for him so that he could walk right through into an expansive foyer. There was a reception desk and everything. Unlike most apartment buildings, there was no bank of mailboxes or a buzzer, so he headed for the reception desk and wondered what the protocol was. Should he call up? Ask for Yibo? At least there were seats and couches off to one side, so he could set his groceries down to pull out his phone if he needed to.<p>“You must be Xiao Zhan,” said the older man behind the reception desk. He had a kindly smile. He held up a white-gloved hand, gesturing to one of two elevators off to the side. “You can go right up.”</p><p>“Oh, okay, thank you,” Xiao Zhan replied, bobbing his head. Before he could ask which floor, a uniformed man stepped out from an alcove and reached the elevator before he did, pressing the button for him.</p><p>He didn’t even need to open his mouth. The elevator man seemed to know where he was going even if Xiao Zhan didn’t have a clear idea.</p><p>He knew Yibo was rich—this was on another level.</p><p>Yibo had sent lunch over for him every day of the past week, even, and most days it was enough food for him and Xuan Lu to take leftovers home for dinner later. Xiao Zhan had taken to sending back selfies of him eating, to prove he did in fact eat, he’d said. That had made Yibo send back a selfie of his smug face, one eyebrow quirked.</p><p>Xiao Zhan liked him so much. He was really in trouble.</p><p>As the elevator was rising, it occurred to him that it would be polite to open WeChat and give Yibo some notice that he’d arrived and was on the way up. He looked at the bags in his hands, glanced at the elevator man out of the corner of his eye, decided it wasn’t worth troubling him, and gave a brief rock back and forth on the balls of his feet. The elevator ascended higher and higher.</p><p>For some reason, Xiao Zhan hadn’t connected the number he’d been given with a floor, but it turned out, it was quite high up.</p><p>Once he was off the elevator and the doors had slid shut behind him, he put his bags down and fished out his phone, tapping out a quick <i>I’m here! Just got to your floor,</i> in their chat. By the time he’d picked up his bags again, a door had opened across the hall.</p><p>“Um, hi!” Xiao Zhan exclaimed, jogging toward the golden light that framed Yibo in the doorway.</p><p>His hair was unstyled, his face was bare, and he was wearing nothing more than a T-shirt and ripped jeans. Yibo was still the most beautiful man Xiao Zhan had ever seen in his life.</p><p>“Hey,” Yibo returned, giving him one of his low-key smiles.</p><p>Xiao Zhan was determined to get a more genuine one out of him, and some laughter too.</p><p>“I hope you like hot oil noodles,” Xiao Zhan told him, holding up one of his grocery bags.</p><p>Yibo brightened right away. “They’re my favorite!” he exclaimed. “I hope you got lots of garlic.”</p><p>“Two whole heads,” Xiao Zhan confirmed, grinning as he walked through the door. He almost made a remark about Yibo not wanting to kiss him after dinner and managed to bite his tongue just in time. “Your security here is impressive.”</p><p>“Yeah, I had to move here not long after the shishengs found my old place,” Yibo said. “It’s got a private garage and better security. So far, so good.”</p><p>“Ah, that is good. It’s okay to go in and use the kitchen?” Xiao Zhan spared a moment to admire the wide, open layout of Yibo’s apartment as he swapped out his shoes for some slippers that had clearly been laid out for him and moved past the entryway.</p><p>To his left, there was a living room space with an entertainment center. Ahead, there was a dining room area alongside an enormous window that had to have an amazing view of the city. Further in, off to the side through an open countertop space was a gleaming kitchen twice as large as Xiao Zhan’s paltry kitchen area. There was even a kitchen island, a feature he’d been longing for ever since he’d moved out of his parents’ house.</p><p><i>Wow</i>, he mouthed, but managed not to say it aloud.</p><p>“Please do,” Yibo invited. He was right behind Xiao Zhan, and he nearly yelped and did startle as he realized how close they were. “You’ll be the first to do anything in there besides heat up some water and use the microwave.”</p><p>“Wang Yibo!” Xiao Zhan exclaimed, depositing his bags on the counter and moving around it. “Do you even have a fully equipped kitchen? What have I walked into, here?”</p><p>Yibo cackled. “Sure! I may not have ever used it, but it’s got everything a real kitchen requires.”</p><p>Xiao Zhan groaned. “I’ll be the judge of that.” He glanced next to the stove, where a knife block resided, and pulled out the chef’s knife to see what state it was in. He hummed, pleased to see that it was sharp as a new blade. Which it probably was, he realized, giving Yibo a wry look over his shoulder.</p><p>“Want some tea?” Yibo offered. He intercepted that look and snickered. “It’s one of the things I do know how to make.”</p><p>“Sure, what have you got?”</p><p>Yibo listed off a litany, and Xiao Zhan was a little impressed his tea collection was so varied.</p><p>“The green and oolong blend,” Xiao Zhan decided at last. It sounded intriguing to him.</p><p>Yibo nodded and moved around the counter into the kitchen with him, taking an electric kettle off its base.</p><p>As Xiao Zhan began to prep, slicing stems off greens and cutting them into strips, Yibo remained in the kitchen with him, even after the tea was brewed and set near his prep area.</p><p>“Going to learn something from this?” Xiao Zhan asked, tossing a playful look over his shoulder. If he kept it light, he figured, he wouldn’t get too lost in his own developing feelings. He had to walk that line and keep it where Yibo wanted.</p><p>“Absolutely not, ge,” Yibo replied, raising his brows. “I’m a certified disaster in the kitchen. You’ve clearly never seen some of the things they’ve made me do on variety shows.”</p><p>Xiao Zhan laughed. “It can’t be that bad.”</p><p>Yibo pulled his phone out then and there and pulled up a video, playing it for him as Xiao Zhan prepped the ingredients and got the water on to boil.</p><p>They both started laughing as Yibo began to handle a raw chicken in his gloved hands, making dubious noises. By the end, Xiao Zhan was cracking up against Yibo’s shoulder, jabbing a finger toward the screen.</p><p>“You have absolutely no practical knowledge!” he screeched, feeling a little bad as Yibo’s shoulder twitched under him, but unable to help himself. “How could you be that bad at cooking chicken?”</p><p>“Hey, I was supposed to be streaming live with a chef who gave me step by step instructions,” Yibo said in a complaining tone. “Only his connection was spotty, and the box of food they gave me didn’t have everything correct. Whoever filled the order made mistakes, but it was television, so we had to move forward like that.”</p><p>“Ah, I’m sorry, Yibo,” Xiao Zhan said. He drew himself upright and patted Yibo’s shoulder. “I’m guessing they weren’t supposed to send a whole chicken?”</p><p>“Definitely not,” Yibo replied, so grumpy that Xiao Zhan had to poke his cheek to try and jolly him back into a better expression.</p><p>“That explains a lot of things,” Xiao Zhan said, thinking back to that moment of Yibo extending the chicken’s leg with the tentative hand of the uninitiated and his quiet, desperate-sounding ‘aiyoh.’</p><p>Yibo poked him back, in the ribs. “It’s not that funny, Zhan-ge.”</p><p>“Oh, it definitely is.”</p><p>He got the noodles on to boil, blanched the bok choy and spinach and set them aside, and prepped everything else, turning and giving Yibo a look.</p><p>“Should I set the table?” Yibo asked, pointing to his own face.</p><p>“Unless you want to let me know where everything is,” Xiao Zhan replied with an agreeable smile.</p><p>“You make everything look so simple,” Yibo marveled as Xiao Zhan brought two plated bowls over to the dining table beside the huge window. Night was falling, and the city had become a dark blanket studded with twinkling stars far below. It was a gorgeous vision.</p><p>The man sitting across the table from Xiao Zhan only improved the view, of course.</p><p>Xiao Zhan gave him a smile and poured the hot oil over Yibo’s bowl of noodles and greens, reserving half and tipping the remainder over his own bowl which he’d scattered more liberally with red pepper flakes. He sat, taking the napkin Yibo had placed under a pair of chopsticks and fluffing it out with a flourish.</p><p>“This one is much easier than chili chicken, I promise.”</p><p>Yibo snorted and dug into his own food. “If you say so, ge.”</p><p>“Yeah, after seeing that video, I would say you shouldn’t be operating any kind of burner without supervision.” Xiao Zhan had to duck his head and snicker when Yibo shot him a look.</p><p>“It’s delicious,” Yibo praised after his first few mouthfuls. He took huge, unstudied bites of his food, giving it his full attention until he’d chewed and swallowed.</p><p>Xiao Zhan knew he should probably find it rude, or at least uncultured, but he actually found it charming. Yibo in person, now that he was getting to know him, was a great deal more charismatic, genuine, and boyish than the first impression he’d left at their first coffee shop meeting. He was fun, and teased as good as he got. It was hard to believe that Xiao Zhan had ever considered him to be cold and aloof.</p><p>He wanted to say he’d be happy to make the dish for Yibo any time, but that had to be overstepping. “I’m glad you like it,” he was able to settle on a neutral alternative.</p><p>Yibo was smiling at the table across from him, and it pulled Xiao Zhan’s mouth up in a smile, too.</p><p>“I don’t think anyone’s ever cooked for me before,” Yibo said aloud, looking down at his bowl and digging in again with his chopsticks.</p><p>That startled Xiao Zhan out of his introspection. “What, really? Is that…that’s why you wanted…?” He had been wondering why Yibo asked him over for a paid date that evening, but was enjoying himself too much to ask.</p><p>Well, there was that, and the fact that Xiao Zhan did still need the money. The longer he looked at Yibo, though, the less he was thinking of that.</p><p>“Ah...mn,” Yibo uttered, leaving it as an awkward non-answer as he shoved more noodles into his mouth, looking out the window.</p><p>“I know a lot of recipes,” Xiao Zhan said, making an oblique reference to the fact that he could come over any time Yibo wanted and cook for him. “Though I’m not much of a baker. Traditional cooking is more my style. I don’t mess with that new fusion stuff, either, and I haven’t really tried foreign cuisine.”</p><p>“But you love Japanese food,” Yibo pointed out.</p><p>“I do love it!” Xiao Zhan agreed. “I’d never try to make it, though. Their food is all about subtle and understated.”</p><p>“And you’re not,” Yibo replied. He rested his chin on a hand, gazing at him.</p><p>Xiao Zhan pulled a self-deprecating face. “When it comes to design, maybe,” he replied. “But food? It’s all about bold flavors, lots of garlic and chilis.”</p><p>Yibo wrinkled his nose, as Xiao Zhan knew he would. “Leave off half the chilis,” he commanded.</p><p>“I did, for you!” Xiao Zhan pointed out, gesturing with his chopsticks, and Yibo made a show of raising up and looking at Xiao Zhan’s bowl, glancing down at his own, and giving a satisfied nod.</p><p>“So you did.”</p><p>They chatted throughout the remainder of the meal, and Xiao Zhan was hard pressed not to make calf eyes at Yibo half the time. When he wasn’t saying annoying things to get a rise out of him, at least. Which Xiao Zhan supposed he was more or less on board with, because he couldn’t remember the last time he’d had so much fun with a date. They talked so much, it took both of them twice as long as it ought to, finishing their food.</p><p>When they were through, Yibo rose and picked up both bowls.</p><p>“Ah, you don’t have to,” Xiao Zhan said, half rising from his seat.</p><p>“You cooked,” Yibo said, giving him a firm look until Xiao Zhan dropped back into seated position. “So I’ll clean up.”</p><p>Xiao Zhan wanted to protest and say it hadn’t been a great effort, but let it go and trailed after Yibo to the kitchen to keep him company as he washed up. He supposed it wasn’t any huge exertion to clean up, either. Still, he appreciated the gesture.</p><p>The last thing he’d expect an idol and actor of Yibo’s status to do after their meal together would have been to insist on cleaning up after it.</p><p>He leaned against the counter, kept his eyes fixed on Yibo, and couldn’t help but tease him a little. “Ah, Lao Wang is exceptional, even at doing the dishes. What excellent, spotless work!”</p><p>Yibo turned from the sink, narrowing his eyes, but his entire face brightened into a teasing grin in the next second. “You want to start that, Lao Xiao?” he returned. He took a towel from its rack beside the sink and whipped it out toward him in an expert flick, his wrist turning it into something near lethal.</p><p>Xiao Zhan yelped and dodged. “Lao Wang! This humble one only sought to compliment you!”</p><p>Yibo rolled the towel between both hands. “And Lao Xiao is the most amazing cook,” he countered. “A meal made by his hands tastes like none other.”</p><p>That got Xiao Zhan’s face burning. “Aiyah, it’s such a simple dish…hardly worthy of the incredible Lao Wang’s praise.”</p><p>“The esteemed Lao Xiao’s cooking skills are exceeded only by his beauty,” Yibo continued ruthlessly, sending a smug grin Xiao Zhan’s way.</p><p>“Ah, that’s too much. It’s too much, Wang Yibo,” Xiao Zhan protested, raising both hands to cover up the lower half of his face and his incredulous grin.</p><p>“All right, enough then…for now,” Yibo decided. He put the towel to good use, drying off the dishes he’d finished washing.</p><p>Xiao Zhan nodded and lounged back against the counter again, but kept a wary eye on Yibo. He was far more of a rough-housing type than Xiao Zhan had given him credit for.</p><p>“Your noodles are even better than the corner shop where I get takeout, though, seriously,” Yibo commented. “What’s the secret? I’ve stopped in probably every Sunday I’m free since I moved into this block, and yours were amazing.”</p><p>Xiao Zhan was going to die of embarrassment. “Well, I got the noodles fresh,” he replied. “If I’d had time, I could have made them. But the place I stopped by makes hand rolled flat noodles every day.”</p><p>Yibo nodded. “I suppose it’s the type of noodle, too,” he said. “I’m pretty sure theirs is a rice noodle.”</p><p>“This was a fresh wheat noodle,” Xiao Zhan replied. “Good and hearty for winter.”</p><p>Yibo finished drying the last of the dishes, put them away, and turned from the sink with a smile.</p><p>Xiao Zhan found himself holding his breath. He hadn’t brought any dessert and had no idea where this date was going. He was in uncharted territory. Yet he was at ease. He liked Yibo’s company, liked spending time with him. He turned that thought over in his head.</p><p>He should be brave enough to admit he liked him, but that carried the risk of Yibo breaking things off. He might not want the entanglement of feelings.</p><p>Xiao Zhan didn’t want to put any obligations on him.</p><p>“I’ve got some cream puffs for dessert,” Yibo said, putting one hand to his hip and cocking it out, the move making Xiao Zhan give him an involuntary once-over.</p><p>Xiao Zhan bit his lip. “Uh…uh-huh?”</p><p>“I don’t know if there’s time to watch a full movie, but we could watch some anime?” Yibo offered. He lapsed into a considering expression. “Ah, I guess you probably wouldn’t watch something like that.”</p><p>Xiao Zhan grasped at the outstretched offer of common ground. “I love anime!” he shot back. “And yeah, it’s easier to pick up a few episodes of that than try to settle into a full-length movie. I do have work tomorrow.”</p><p>“Me, too,” Yibo replied, mouth pulling wryly to one side.</p><p>“Bright and early again?” Xiao Zhan teased.</p><p>“Every day,” Yibo replied.</p><p>They settled side by side on the couch in front of Yibo’s entertainment center. It seemed modest by rich people standards, but it dwarfed anything Xiao Zhan had ever owned by comparison. The television was enormous, and the surround sound was wireless.</p><p>Yibo found an episode of One Piece—there was probably always an episode of One Piece on in the world at any given time—and settled against the couch with an arm along the back. And in that moment, Xiao Zhan knew the depths of true panic.</p><p>Although Yibo’s arm wasn’t touching his back or shoulders, the line of it was a solid presence, so palpable Xiao Zhan thought he could feel a prickle of imminent contact. </p><p>If he leaned back into it, he’d be touching Yibo. Was that…was that what Yibo wanted?</p><p>As he sat there stiffly upright, trying to puzzle through it, Xiao Zhan flashed back through the whole evening in an eyeblink. There was no event, Yibo had invited him over to his apartment. He’d accepted the offer of a home-cooked meal, cleaned up the dishes afterward, and he’d even gotten some dessert for them to eat later. Now they were seated comfortably on the couch side by side watching a show they both enjoyed, like a date.</p><p>A real date.</p><p>His instincts told him to relax back against the arm behind him, and he did with a small, contented sigh.</p><p>Yibo’s arm moved closer, not quite curving around him, but definitely pressed against him.</p><p>Xiao Zhan’s mouth twitched. Was it actually possible he was Yibo’s first…? No, that wasn’t possible, he decided. But he doubted Yibo was any more skilled than he was at relationships. Neither of them had the time to pursue other people.</p><p>He’d have to make the first move, then, he decided. It was his responsibility to make it a memorable date.</p><p>That decided, Xiao Zhan reached up and grasped the hand of Yibo’s that was hovering just above and behind his shoulder and tugged Yibo’s arm securely around him. A quiet, startled noise left Yibo, but he kept his arm right where it was, with Xiao Zhan in the crook of his arm.</p><p>Well, once that was accomplished, Xiao Zhan stared at the television but it was impossible to concentrate on the episode. His brain processed, in a vague way, the fact that the characters he liked were engaged in yet another episode of madcap adventures, but the greater share of his attention was riveted to Yibo’s arm around his shoulders. He was sliding closer toward him on the couch cushion, too, and if he didn’t shift and put a stop to it, he was going to end up pressed against Yibo’s side.</p><p>Xiao Zhan’s eyes fluttered. He closed his eyes briefly. He was torn between doing nothing, which would maintain things as they were; or shifting in the crook of Yibo’s arm and offering himself for a kiss.</p><p>It didn’t occur to him to put some distance between them. That wasn’t what he was here for.</p><p>There were two paths ahead of him, and he was conflicted. He could either offer himself to Yibo, which was exactly what he wanted, and risk rejection; or he could remain passive and let Yibo guide the encounter. As he ought to. He was here for Yibo, to fulfill what Yibo wanted out of the date.</p><p>Hell, he had mentioned a boyfriend upgrade option to Yibo and the fact they’d have to talk about it, and been ignored. That still stung.</p><p>Xiao Zhan risked himself and shifted against Yibo’s shoulder, looking over into his face.</p><p>Yibo wasn’t watching the television. His gaze was fixed on Xiao Zhan, and there was no mistaking it for anything other than a hungry look.</p><p>“Zhan-ge,” he said, low but sure.</p><p>Xiao Zhan surged up, turning to orient himself toward Yibo, grasping at him and getting a hand on his side as he didn’t even wait to offer his mouth. He pressed his lips to Yibo’s, going still, waiting for a sign that this was what Yibo desired as much as he did. He wasn’t left wanting. Yibo made a small sound in his throat and pressed in against him, lips closing against his in a decisive kiss. They parted, the moist sound only making Xiao Zhan crowd closer against his front, and Yibo looked at him, his eyes half-closed and hazy. He kissed him again, hand capturing the base of Xiao Zhan’s neck and holding him into the kiss.</p><p>One kiss turned into many. Xiao Zhan’s lips parted for him in eager readiness the instant Yibo’s tongue ran along his mouth. Their kisses deepened and gained speed until Xiao Zhan was making small, involuntary noises against him and his brain was clamoring <i>yes, yes</i>. Yibo’s shirt was softer than it looked under his hand and his mouth was firm, more demanding. If he lacked in experience, there was no sign of it in the way he kissed Xiao Zhan. His other hand came up to cradle the side of Xiao Zhan’s face and the way he kissed him was powerful—but there was a give and take in the way their tongues played against one another. They were both equally eager to explore.</p><p>He shuddered against Yibo, ran a hand down his side from ribs to waist, and gave serious thought to climbing up onto the couch and slinging himself across Yibo’s lap.</p><p>Yibo broke the kiss when he shuddered. He looked into Xiao Zhan’s face. His eyes were dilated and his lips were wet.</p><p>“Wait,” Yibo said as Xiao Zhan leaned in to capture his mouth again.</p><p>Xiao Zhan managed to stifle a small whine, just barely, and was grateful for the scrap of his dignity it allowed him to retain.</p><p>“We haven’t…discussed this kind of step,” Yibo said, but his fingers were massaging at the base of Xiao Zhan’s skull, and all he wanted in the longing of the moment was to fasten his mouth to Yibo’s again.</p><p>With a sigh, Xiao Zhan acknowledged the point and slumped into the curve of Yibo’s arm. ‘This kind of step’ was one that wasn’t set up in the Sugar Baby app, but Xiao Zhan had already figured out the loopholes to get around it. As long as both parties were willing, the optional tip that the sugar patron could add to the date could encompass any kind of act that they had agreed to.</p><p>“I want to,” Yibo said, his arm tightening around Xiao Zhan. “But, we shouldn’t just—”</p><p>“No, I get it,” Xiao Zhan interrupted, cutting him off and pushing against his shoulder. He got to his feet.</p><p>Yibo smelled so good. If he kept sitting here like this, tucked against his warm, lithe body, it would be torture for them both.</p><p>“Oh, I…” Yibo rose from his couch, too, mouth open.</p><p>His lips were still slick from kissing, full and wet. Xiao Zhan had to wrench his gaze away to meet Yibo’s eyes again.</p><p>“I should go,” Xiao Zhan said in an apologetic tone. <i>I want you to do more than put an arm around me.</i> Now that he’d had Yibo’s passionate mouth on him, could still practically feel his tongue in his mouth, he was too greedy to be satisfied with only sitting beside him.</p><p>Yibo’s face dropped, but he nodded, fixing a careful, neutral look on in the next second. “Right,” he said. “Right. Of course. Whatever you’re comfortable with.”</p><p><i>I was comfortable in your arms,</i> Xiao Zhan wanted to say, but held himself back, clasping an arm across his front in a poor substitute of depositing himself back into Yibo’s embrace. He tried to smile, but was pretty sure it was one of his worse attempts.</p><p>“I’ll see you soon?” he said instead, because that, at least, would allow him to keep some semblance of control.</p><p>Yibo’s eyes gentled. “Yes,” he said. “Okay, Zhan-ge.”</p><p>Even as Yibo was escorting him to the door, hand hovering near his elbow but not quite touching, Xiao Zhan mourned the loss of their easy, camaraderie-filled evening. He couldn’t even exchange it for the scorching sexual tension that had sprung up between them.</p><p>In his head, the line was clear. He was on a sugar date with Yibo, and he wasn’t going to cross the line until that was concluded and they’d had some space and time to talk with clear minds.</p><p>And without their dicks being in charge, Xiao Zhan thought with a rueful internal twitch.</p><p>He turned at the door, paused as he looked at Yibo’s mouth, and stepped over the threshold before he could move in again. He <i>really</i> wanted to kiss Yibo goodnight.</p><p>There was the matter of clarifying what was happening between them, though, before they kissed again.</p><p>“Well…good night,” Xiao Zhan said, rubbing the back of his head and trying to school his expression into something less awkward.</p><p>Yibo bobbed his head, giving his lip a nervous lick. His eyes were hooded again, and it shuttered his expression in a way that made him hard to read. “Good night.”</p><p>It was only once Xiao Zhan got to the ground floor that he realized he should have called a DiDi in advance.</p><p>The next morning, when he rolled over to check his phone as Jianguo nosed at his shoulder, he opened it to several notifications, including another from the Sugar Rush app.</p><p>He opened it quickly, hoping against hope Yibo had sent him a message, realizing simultaneously why would he, when he had Xiao Zhan’s WeChat; and that it was a payment.</p><p>As usual, the payment notification detailed out the line items: the date, the kiss, the tip. It was an exorbitant amount.</p><p>Xiao Zhan stared at it, processing the numbers. Right. The kiss was extra.</p><p>He rolled over in bed, burying his face and nearly crushing Jianguo, who scrambled to the side and meowed at him with tiny furor. “Ahh, I’m an idiot,” he said, half to the pillow, half to the cat.</p><p>Of course, what kind of idiot got into this sort of thing for the money, then fell for the first sugar daddy who engaged his services?</p><p>One Xiao Zhan, that was who.</p><p>He closed the app and went through his other notifications. No WeChat from Yibo.</p><p>“I can’t do this anymore,” Xiao Zhan said aloud. He looked over at Jianguo, who blinked back at him with solemn, wide eyes before licking a paw.</p><p>He rolled back onto his back, held his phone up over his face, and went to his settings. Without further ado, he deleted the app.</p><p>His stomach clenched.</p><p>“I’ll find a way,” he told Jianguo, petting her soft little head before turning to roll out of bed and head for the bathroom. “He can spoil me if he wants, as a boyfriend. I’m not going to peddle my affection anymore, though.”</p><p>It was time to be honest with Yibo, and if that didn’t work out for him, then it wasn’t meant to be.</p><div class="center">
  <p>***</p>
</div>“Did you get your boyfriend to agree to the red carpet tomorrow night?” was the first thing out of Yu Ling’s mouth when Yibo got through the door to his manager’s office the next day.<p>Yibo gave her a blank stare. “The what now?”</p><p>Yu Ling made an anguished noise. “It’s in your planner! Do you even look at that damned thing? Cheng Xiao was going to go with you, but she’s not attending now that…” She gestured as she trailed off.</p><p>“That’s what I pay you for,” Yibo replied. “To remind me about things like this.”</p><p>His response made Yu Ling stamp her foot, shaking her slender wrists, hands balled into fists. “Yibo, so help me—”</p><p>“Relax, I’ll message him,” Yibo replied, pulling his phone out. Xiao Zhan had already admitted ruefully to him over banter the other night that he had basically no life and was already free most weekends, which was why the sugar dating gig seemed perfect to him.</p><p>He opened the app, which should have defaulted to Xiao Zhan’s profile, because it was the only page on the app worth bothering with for his purposes.</p><p>It errored out and bounced him to the home screen.</p><p>Yibo scowled. It took him a moment, because the search function kept wanting to show him the recent additions to the app, but he found the user search and typed in Xiao Zhan’s name.</p><p>It flashed to a results screen that told him ‘user not found.’</p><p>Yibo’s scowl deepened. He went back, typing in Xiao Zhan’s name again and checking to be sure he’d gotten the right characters. Yes, and yes…he hit search again.</p><p>Once again, the results screen told him user not found.</p><p>“That’s not right,” Yibo said aloud. He switched over to WeChat, which had three top threads with new notifications. </p><p>One of them was from Xiao Zhan. </p><p>“More like it,” Yibo muttered, opening the chat with Xiao Zhan.</p><p>
  <i>Yibo, I don’t want to take your money anymore.</i>
</p><p>It was a gut shot, low and out of nowhere. Yibo set his phone down before he could drop it. He braced himself against his manager’s desk.</p><p>“Fuck,” he said, pulled a foot back to kick the desk, and thought better of it. If he broke some toes, his team would be pissed. There were too many commitments lined up to put himself out of commission.</p><p>It hadn’t been an error. Xiao Zhan had deleted his profile in the Sugar Rush app.</p><p>He had never been ghosted before, Yibo thought with detachment. He wondered if he’d be able to use it for a role, the way the cold emptiness settled over him.</p><p>Had he come on too strong? He remembered Seungyoun’s words even now. When he liked someone, he moved fast. He didn’t see a point in waiting.</p><p>Yibo had genuinely liked Xiao Zhan, and the other man must have seen it. He’d left him with no option but to push him away, of course, if he didn’t feel the same way about him.</p><p>Yu Ling came back into the office with a paper cup and set it in front of him, giving him a wary stare. “What happened?”</p><p>“Nothing,” Yibo intoned dully. “Nothing happened. There won’t be a date for tomorrow night.”</p><p>Yu Ling stared at him for a moment, pulled in her chin, and started nodding. “Okay. Okay, we can still find someone,” she said. “This is not the end of the world. I know you don’t want to use an escort service—”</p><p>“No,” Yibo snapped, turning an angry look on her. It must have been effective, because Yu Ling took a step back.</p><p>“You have to go with a date,” Yu Ling said, holding her hands up defensively. “It’s expected.”</p><p>“If it’s not him, it won’t be anyone,” Yibo said with a stubborn jerk of his chin.</p><p>“Oh, shit,” Yu Ling said, looking at him, studying his face. “Shit, you really like him, don’t you?</p><p>“Shut up,” Yibo muttered, turning toward the wall. He wanted to pick the phone up, apologize to Xiao Zhan, and ask him if there was anything he could do to take it back or make amends. Even as the thought formed, he knew it was pointless. He’d already crossed that line. Xiao Zhan knew he wanted him, and he’d left.</p><p>“So it wasn’t a joke to you when I said you want him to be your boyfriend,” Yu Ling continued.</p><p>“Yu Ling, I will dock your fucking pay,” Yibo snarled, whirling back toward her.</p><p>She held her hands up, grinning. “You don’t write the paychecks,” she replied, undaunted. Of course, she wasn’t scared of him, which was why she’d lasted as his assistant for so long. “Was he busy tomorrow or something?”</p><p>“We broke up,” Yibo said. He picked up his tea and took a swig, ignoring the way it burned his mouth and throat going down.</p><p>“No,” Yu Ling said, aghast. “You’re joking, right? Please, tell me you’re kidding with me right now.” She began pacing across the middle stretch of Yibo’s manager’s office.</p><p>Yibo raised his brows at her. “When I’m joking, you know,” he pointed out.</p><p>“You…fuck, Yibo, how did you manage to break up with a <i>sugar date</i>?” Yu Ling hissed. “I’m not sure if anyone told you, but a sugar date is basically a sure thing!”</p><p>Yibo’s mouth quirked. “He deleted the app.”</p><p>Yu Ling stopped pacing, made a sharp turn to face him, and threw her hands up. “What did you <i>do</i>?”</p><p>Yibo turned to face the wall again. That, he wasn’t going to discuss again. That was off limits.</p><p>“All right,” Yu Ling said, sounding more as though she were talking to herself and not him. “All right, he didn’t turn you down. He’s not unavailable. We just…we get someone else. There’s time.”</p><p>“I said no.” Yibo set his mouth. “Don’t make me repeat myself.”</p><p>Yu Ling sighed. “If it’s not him, then no one?”</p><p>Yibo squared his shoulders and picked his phone up. He had to go through the sting of seeing that last chat from Xiao Zhan again before he swiped WeChat closed and pulled up one of his other numerous notifications.</p><p>“It’s not the end of the world if I go to one event without a date,” Yibo said.</p><p>“Maybe,” Yu Ling said, but she sounded more dubious than Yibo felt. “We’ll see.”</p><p>Bare minimum, he was going to get fined by his management team for defying protocol. Yibo didn’t care about that, though. He needed some time.</p><p>For once, he’d thought there had been a chance, a connection, when Xiao Zhan turned his head up as he leaned back into the circle of his arm, and his eyes shone up at Yibo when their gazes locked. He’d kissed him like he wanted it, too. He’d pressed up against him warm and eager.</p><p>Yibo hadn’t wanted to go further in the moment because that boyfriend upgrade was looking very promising.</p><p>None of it had mattered; he’d pushed too far, and Xiao Zhan had deleted the app. There was nothing left to ask for. He’d made the line very clear.</p><p>He was allowed to mourn the death of something that had almost been, Yibo figured, if only for a little while.</p><p>The next night, Yibo went to the red carpet night alone. He could barely remember the last time he’d been to any public event without someone hanging off his arm. Back before he was eighteen, maybe. The banks of flashbulbs went off on him and he turned his back on the photographers sooner than usual, determined to get through the night with the bare minimum.</p><p>“Yibo! Yibo, what happened to Xiao Zhan?” one of the eager red carpet reporters demanded.</p><p>Yibo’s eyes flicked in his direction, but he kept his expression impassive from long practice. Of course they had found out it was Xiao Zhan, already. He’d worried about needing to send security over to protect him, but it seemed he was already diligent about wearing a mask in public.</p><p>“Did Xiao Zhan break up with you?” the reporter next to him jostled forward to ask.</p><p>Yibo turned his back on them and moved on, even though he was supposed to remain in place for another few minutes. The P.A. ahead of him looked startled, then resigned. She waved him through to the event.</p><p>“You could try to look a little less miserable,” Yibo’s manager hissed, appearing out of nowhere and latching onto his arm. </p><p>He pulled a straight face and regarded her. “Better?”</p><p>“No,” she replied, sour. “You’d better shape up this attitude or this will cascade, fast.”</p><p>Yibo’s mouth tightened and he glanced out over the assembled glitterati of the c-ent world.</p><p>“What happened?” his manager asked. She shook her head. “You know what? I don’t want to know. Yu Ling said you broke up.”</p><p>“Not by my choice,” Yibo muttered.</p><p>“What did you even do?” She didn’t wait for an answer, squeezing his arm and releasing it. “There’s going to be an empty space next to you, and it’s going to be glaringly obvious. Just try not to look like he left you at the altar, all right?”</p><p>Yibo gave her a sarcastic salute, a couple of fingers at his brow, and moved off when she patted his shoulder. “Any particular marching orders?”</p><p>“Tonight I’d prefer that you stay out of trouble,” she replied with a wry smile. “It’s enough that you’re seen here. I’m sorry about your date.”</p><p>Yibo shrugged. “Sorry enough not to fine me?”</p><p>She got a pinched expression and he shook his head.</p><p>“I know it’s not up to you,” he said. “I get it. I’ve got to pay the price.”</p><p>In a way, he mused, as he headed off to find his seat, it was like a double penalty. He’d already lost Xiao Zhan by sheer virtue of liking him more than he ought to; now he was actually being fined for it. Well, that was more from his stubbornness not to pay for some other date. Besides the short notice, they wouldn’t be the one person he wanted beside him.</p><p>Yibo had always thought, before, that people were overreacting over their breakups. If two people were so different that they had to part ways, wasn’t it better to find out sooner instead of later? Yet that was easy for him to say when he’d never been emotionally invested before. And in his situation, he hadn’t even been properly in a relationship but he was torn up over the loss.</p><p>He’d genuinely liked Xiao Zhan, and he was sure Xiao Zhan liked him back. And yet… <i>Yibo, I don’t want to take your money anymore.</i></p><p>Did he have to delete the entire Sugar Rush app to prove it?</p><p>“What’s this?” a familiar drawling voice said beside him.</p><p>Yibo startled, head swinging up. He narrowed his eyes at Zhang Yixing, who had a trim, toned young woman in a red wrap dress on his arm. Yibo didn’t recognize her, but that didn’t necessarily mean anything. He had a terrible memory for any face for a person for whom he hadn’t developed some kind of association or emotional connection.</p><p>“Where’s Xiao Zhan?” Yixing asked, eyes roaming over Yibo. He smiled, and it was faintly mocking.</p><p>“Not present,” Yibo replied flatly. He wasn’t in the mood to get into it.</p><p>Yixing’s mouth quirked. “That’s too bad,” he said. “I can’t believe you lost the attention of such a wonderful man so soon.”</p><p>Yibo gave him a frosty look, fists clenching. He stepped toward Yixing, who looked amused, but his date tugged on his arm and he turned his attention to her.</p><p>“Ah, you’re right, we should find our seats,” Yixing said in response to something she murmured to him. He gave Yibo a lift of his chin and a chuckle. “Well, good luck.”</p><p>Yibo held himself rigid and unmoving for a moment longer, until Yixing had turned his back and moved off, but once he was gone, he deflated. He couldn’t believe it, either. He was beyond disappointed.</p><p>His manager was right. He was miserable, and he’d driven off someone he had genuinely thought had started to have an interest in him. So he must have a miserable personality, too.</p><p>Yibo wondered if his management would add an extra fine for visibly having a bad time in public. As he slouched off to locate his seat with its empty place beside him, he decided he didn’t care.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Meant to catch up on comments, my apologies! Well, that's what the weekend is for.</p><p>Probably will have a Saturday update, but if not, Sunday at the very latest, I promise.</p><p>Thank you so much for reading! :) Once again, let me know what was your favorite part?</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>In which they have it out, at last.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Xiao Zhan didn’t normally work through the weekends, but their business inbox was overflowing to the point someone had to stay on top of it, and he was the business owner for Daytoy Studios so that honor fell to him. Xuan Lu was doing her best to find an administrative assistant, but she’d warned him it could take several more days.</p><p>He pulled a fourteen-hour day on Saturday, woke up the next day with a groan, and rolled over to check his phone while he was still sleepy and half focused.</p><p>
  <i>Zhanzhan? Why are you trending on Weibo?</i>
</p><p>Xiao Zhan sat up in bed, clutching his phone and pawing at it with a shaking finger. Xuan Lu only messaged him early on weekends if she wanted to go out for coffee, and he’d already warned her he was probably working through most of Sunday.</p><p>With deep reluctance, he opened Weibo to discover that <i>“Where is Xiao Zhan?”</i> was trending, and it was full of pictures of a tight-lipped Yibo. In a few of them, he was staring right into the camera as he walked up a red carpet alone.</p><p>“I have not had enough coffee for this,” Xiao Zhan said aloud, trying to make sense of what he was seeing. He’d only seen Yibo a few days ago. Had there been some kind of gala or event?</p><p>A stab of hurt twinged in his chest. If Yibo had an event, why hadn’t he invited him?</p><p>Xiao Zhan rolled out of bed, took care of the necessary in the bathroom, and padded into the kitchen on bare feet in striped pajama bottoms.</p><p>He went through the motions of his normal routine, getting the coffee started and serving up his little princess Jianguo’s morning allotment of canned food, before trying to figure it out again. His neurons weren’t firing correctly. He also had a sense he only had part of the picture.</p><p>He was halfway through his first cup of coffee, pan-frying up a batch of scallion pancakes, when he dared to open Weibo again.</p><p>There had been a red carpet event on Friday. The entire thread was up in arms about how Yibo had shown up without a date, which was unprecedented for a young celebrity his age. Some of the older ones could get away with it, when they were still unmarried by a certain age, usually their mid to late thirties. Reporters had asked him where Xiao Zhan was, and he’d turned his back on them. Coldly, some gossip sisters added with glee.</p><p>Xiao Zhan finished up his coffee and set it aside. It wasn’t sitting right in his stomach. He’d told Yibo he would see him soon, and Yibo had agreed. Then why…</p><p>In a blooming heat wave that started in his chest and swept up his face, Xiao Zhan recalled waking up the other day and deleting the Sugar Rush app. He wasn’t going to charge Yibo to take him out anymore, he couldn’t bear it. He wanted something without barriers between them. But he’d told Yibo that, hadn’t he? He’d sent a message…</p><p>He had to rescue a burning scallion pancake first, but afterward he opened his last WeChat with Yibo. It glared up at him like an accusation.</p><p>
  <i>Yibo, I don’t want to take your money anymore.</i>
</p><p>“Fuck,” he said softly, realizing exactly how Yibo must have taken that, combined with the deletion of the app. Yibo might even have tried to request him, found his profile gone, <i>then</i> seen that message.</p><p>Xiao Zhan wouldn’t be surprised if Yibo had blocked him after receiving that very final-sounding message.</p><p>“That’s not what I meant,” he bemoaned out loud to his silent kitchen. Jianguo looked over her shoulder, made a quiet ‘brrt’ noise, but continued on her way to the living area. She’d gotten her food and she was done with him for now.</p><p>He sat down at his kitchen table and ate his scallion pancakes, but they were like lead when they hit his stomach. His plan for the day had been to make a thermal flask’s worth of coffee, head back to the office again, and answer emails until night again.</p><p>There were, at least, enough legitimate business inquiries in their firm inbox that Xiao Zhan thought they might actually start to turn a profit within a month or so. He hadn’t considered that the mere exposure on Yibo’s arm would generate interest in his social media and his firm, but he ought to have. And he hadn’t even properly begun networking any of it.</p><p>Once Xiao Zhan cleaned up after his breakfast dishes, his path was clear to him. He had to find Yibo.</p><p>He doubted a text was going to cut it, either. He was also afraid to try to put something through only to discover he was blocked.</p><p>It wasn’t like he could just show up at Yibo’s building. Even if reception had let him in the other night, that kind of access was easy enough to revoke.</p><p>Xiao Zhan put his head into his arms on the counter, wondering whether it was feasible to just wait outside the building in case Yibo ever ventured out the front. Why would he? A place that swanky had interior parking, Yibo probably never went through the front…door… His head rose as he remembered their discussion on noodles, and how much Yibo had enjoyed the hand-pulled noodles he’d brought over.</p><p><i>Every Sunday I’m in Beijing, I stop by the corner noodle shop</i>, Yibo had told him.</p><p>Xiao Zhan pulled out his phone and checked the date, unnecessarily. It was indeed Sunday. His sense of time was a little warped after the long day he’d pulled yesterday.</p><p>It was a stupid gambit. Incredibly cheesy, to boot. One in a million. What was to say Yibo would even stop by there today?</p><p>Xiao Zhan was already moving, setting out on a fast path for his bedroom, heading for his closet to pick out something functional but maybe at least somewhat attractive. He took his usual mask and baseball cap, too, and dithered in the kitchen for a moment then decided to bring his thermal flask after all. A noodle shop probably wouldn’t serve coffee and might not mind if he brought his own while he waited.</p><p>With a last chiding word to himself, Xiao Zhan set out for the well-heeled block of flats where Yibo lived. At the very least, he owed it to both of them to clear up the misunderstanding.</p><p>On the ride over, he shot a quick text to Xuan Lu to let her know what had happened.</p><p><i>You didn’t tell him you wanted to date him for real?</i> she shot back. He could all but hear her screech through the angry stickers she added.</p><p><i>I lost track of it</i>, Xiao Zhan replied miserably. <i>We were so busy Thursday, and Friday, and I even worked Saturday…I thought he would reply and then I’d tell him I wanted to date him, really date him, without an app or the money getting in the way.</i></p><p><i>Great sentiment! Terrible execution,</i> Xuan Lu chided him.</p><p><i>I know. I know, I did bad. I should have phrased it differently. Or followed up right away,</i> Xiao Zhan sent back. <i>Trust me, I’m kicking myself over it.</i></p><p>
  <i>What are you going to do?</i>
</p><p>
  <i>I’m headed over there to make it right.</i>
</p><p>It was an easy statement to make, but far less easy in practice. Xiao Zhan made it to the right block; he still had Yibo’s building address from the other day. There was, in fact, only one corner noodle shop, so he knew he had the right one. He headed in, bought a bowl of noodles, and claimed a corner seat even though he wasn’t hungry.</p><p>Finally he nerved himself to send a WeChat to Yibo.</p><p>
  <i>Yibo, I need to see you. I’ll be at your corner noodle shop. I’m an idiot, and an ass.</i>
</p><p>He watched the message tensely, but no ‘read’ receipt appeared.</p><p>Xiao Zhan settled in to wait. And wait. And wait.</p><p>By the second hour, he was wishing he had access to his work email from his phone, because then he could at least be doing something productive. During the third hour of his wait, he was wishing he’d brought a non-electronic diversion, like a book or some paper-based puzzles. The fourth hour, he had to buy more noodles, because the proprietor was starting to side-eye him, he’d been there so long.</p><p>He waited, and he pulled his hat off and put his head down beside his thermal flask. He pulled out his phone to see if he could find Yibo’s work schedule on the internet somewhere. Perhaps he’d already flown out to a prior engagement, and Xiao Zhan was spinning his wheels.</p><p>He was going to wait as long as he could, but he couldn’t run his phone out of power. He had to be able to call a DiDi to get home, at least.</p><p>Disconsolate, Xiao Zhan put his head back in his arms again, burying his face in the crook of an elbow and giving vent to an aggrieved sigh. He had only himself to blame.</p><p>He would just have to come here every Sunday until Wang Yibo showed up, he decided.</p><p>He pressed his chin more firmly into his arm, eyes drifting shut. He’d keep sitting here for a while longer. He’d keep his gaze fixed on that door. He might even stay for dinner. A small, burbling sigh escaped him.</p><p>A hand in his hair woke him, and Xiao Zhan sat up with a start, gasping. He was in an uncomfortable metal chair, and he’d fallen asleep.</p><p>Yibo was standing next to him, masked, a bucket hat over his head, hands in his pockets.</p><p>He must have imagined the hand in his hair, Xiao Zhan decided. His own mind was taunting him.</p><p>“What are you doing here?” Yibo asked. He pushed his mask down under his chin so that Xiao Zhan could get a clear look at his face. He wasn’t smiling, and in fact did not look happy to see him.</p><p>Xiao Zhan’s stomach dropped. “Yibo, I owe you an apology.”</p><p>“Oh?” Yibo returned, sounding disinterested. “You said you didn’t want to see me anymore.”</p><p>Xiao Zhan’s eyes pricked. He’d deserved that shot, he knew. He lifted his chin. “Wang Yibo. That wasn’t what I meant. I don’t want to <i>take money</i> for it.”</p><p>Yibo’s eyes widened and like that, his posture relaxed. He pulled out the metal seat beside Xiao Zhan, sitting next to him and reaching for his hand on the table.</p><p>Xiao Zhan unfolded his arms, letting Yibo take his hand and thread their fingers together. “How did you know it was me? I was passed out like a drunk after a bender.”</p><p>Yibo shook his head, eyes going soft. “Your legs in those jeans,” he said. “They’re endless. And you have a little twirl of hair, here.” His hand went up toward his own hair, illustrating.</p><p>“I do not!” Xiao Zhan replied indignantly. He continued, unsure, “Wait, I do?”</p><p>Yibo was smiling at him. “Did you mean it?”</p><p>“Yes,” Xiao Zhan said right away. He was not risking any more misunderstandings. “I was the one who floated the boyfriend option, Yibo. I…I was hoping you’d take me up on it, but when you didn’t…”</p><p>Yibo’s sharp chin rose and he pinned him with a very intent gaze. “Zhan-ge, I thought you were joking,” he replied. “I thought, if you were serious, you’d bring it up again. As a sugar patron, I…I didn’t think I was supposed to.”</p><p>Xiao Zhan buried his face in his free hand with a small, stifled groan. “And I thought when you didn’t respond to that at all, it meant you…you didn’t want that. You only wanted the arrangement.”</p><p>Yibo bit his lip and looked down, giving a slow nod. “I see,” he said.</p><p>Xiao Zhan tried to repress a grin, but it took control of his face. “We’re both idiots.”</p><p>Yibo’s gaze jerked over to him, but he started smiling, too. “We’re really bad at this,” he agreed.</p><p>“I should have been more clear,” Xiao Zhan said, settling his cheek in his palm.</p><p>“No, I…I definitely made some assumptions when I should have asked,” Yibo replied. “I thought I scared you off. I figured I came on too strong…if I’d just replied to your WeChat we could have cleared it up right then.”</p><p>“We could have,” Xiao Zhan agreed, tightening his hand on Yibo’s.</p><p>Yibo gave him a slow, pleased smile. “Zhan-ge, can I buy you dinner?”</p><p>“Is it a date?” Xiao Zhan asked, giving Yibo a coy lip bite of his own.</p><p>“It is definitely, unquestionably a date,” Yibo replied, giving him decisive eyes. “I want to upgrade, Zhan-ge.”</p><p>Xiao Zhan grinned at him. “And of course, I accept.”</p>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>***</p>
</div>“You have to be sick of noodles by now; you’ve been here all day,” Yibo pointed out, masked up again as they stood in front of the counter hand in hand and he tried to contain the thrill that went through him. Zhan-ge’s hand in his was like a promise.<p>“It’s fine,” Xiao Zhan replied. “They have a variety, see? I haven’t tried that dish yet; it sounds good.”</p><p>“I can get any kind of delivery you want, you know,” Yibo said, stepping close enough to Xiao Zhan to speak into his ear to avoid offending the shop owner, whose noodles he bought at least once a week.</p><p>Xiao Zhan twisted to pin him with a no-nonsense look. “But you haven’t gotten your favorite yet for the week,” he replied. “Really, I’m happy with this. I’m happy with anything, because it’s a date with you.”</p><p>Yibo’s ears got hot, but he kept a firm hold on Xiao Zhan’s hand and stepped up to the counter to order.</p><p>They got their noodle takeout, walked the half block to Yibo’s building, and went up to his apartment. Once they had their house slippers on, Yibo dragged him over to the couch with their takeout bags and made a brief detour to the kitchen for iced tea and chopsticks.</p><p>“I didn’t think you wanted a relationship,” Yibo said, but seated himself thigh to thigh with Xiao Zhan on the couch, who didn’t move away.</p><p>Xiao Zhan put his head to the side, examining him. “What makes you say that?” He flushed. “I mean, besides the sugar dating thing, which isn’t going to be an issue.”</p><p>Since it was deleted, the unspoken truth hung in the air.</p><p>Yibo waved his hand with chopsticks. “I’m in entertainment,” he said outright. “I have a shitty schedule for romance.”</p><p>Xiao Zhan gave him wide eyes, and finished chewing and swallowing his noodles. “I don’t need to be romanced; I just want to spend time with you when you’ve got some available.”</p><p>Yibo blinked. That was a surprisingly practical take on it. He supposed that was the mature outlook of the six years’ difference between them. “I don’t work a normal forty hour week.”</p><p>“Neither do I,” Xiao Zhan said with a snort. “Though, I might be able to telework some of it, if you want to take me on more business trips.” He gave Yibo a coy smile.</p><p>Yibo found himself liking that idea. He bounced around from Beijing, to Shanghai, to some of the on-location film sites. Being able to take Xiao Zhan with him, even if it was only from time to time, was an unexpected bright spot in the prospect of having an actual relationship.</p><p>“And I’ll be able to use all that couture you spoiled me with on any upcoming events you need a date for,” Xiao Zhan added.</p><p>Yibo brightened even further. “But, the publicity…” he recalled, and that really could put a spoke in their prospects. He wrinkled his nose. He’d seen the trending topic that morning, and his manager had already given him a long scolding over it besides the fine his company was going to levy on him.</p><p>“Is the opposite of a problem,” Xiao Zhan said with a laugh.</p><p>Yibo held his gaze. “Oh?” he asked, stroking a thumb near Xiao Zhan’s knee, and noticing the small shiver that traveled through him.</p><p>“We’re getting so many inquiries every day, I have to hire help to go through them,” Xiao Zhan said. “Once we sort out the honest business from spam and idle curiosity, Xuan Lu and I are guessing this will actually cause a spike in contracts for us. We’ll be in the black within a quarter.”</p><p>“That’s…” Yibo was speechless. Who knew the internet could have a positive effect?</p><p>“Yeah, I couldn’t believe it,” Xiao Zhan replied.</p><p>“I only thought it would be troublesome for you,” Yibo said. “I didn’t think it might have any benefit.”</p><p>“Most of them are just tourists,” Xiao Zhan said with a dismissive wave of his hand. “They want to find out more about me, and you by extension; they’re not serious. And that’s why we have to hire someone.”</p><p>“Oh,” Yibo said. He wondered if he should offer to chip in for the new hire’s salary. It was his responsibility, after all.</p><p>“We were going to need to do that anyhow, once the business took off,” Xiao Zhan continued. He secured more noodles with his chopsticks. “It’s only a little ahead of schedule. With new contracts, we’ll improve our reputation, and it’ll all pay off.” He ate his noodles, and Yibo took advantage to eat more too.</p><p>Once they had put a fair dent in their meals, Yibo decided to tackle the topic that had been on his mind since Shanghai. He gave Xiao Zhan an assessing, sidelong glance, and Xiao Zhan responded with inquisitive eyes.</p><p>“There are some things you’re going to have to let me take care of,” Yibo said, keeping his tone light but firm. “Security, for one, when it becomes necessary. And it will, because we’re dating.”</p><p>Xiao Zhan swallowed his noodles and made a face, but nodded. “Okay,” he replied.</p><p>“Okay?” Yibo was a little surprised it was going to be so easy.</p><p>“I’ll let you be my guide here, Wang Laoshi,” Xiao Zhan said. “You know your world better than I do. If you say that I need security, I’m not going to put up a fuss and argue.”</p><p>“Well…good,” Yibo said. That had been easy enough, it gave him enough courage to continue, “And I’m going to spoil you a lot more. So you’d better brace yourself to get used to it.”</p><p>The wide eyes were back. “But, we’re not sugar dating…”</p><p>“That had <i>nothing</i> to do with me wanting to spoil you,” Yibo said with certainty. “I have the means, and just…look at you. I want to see you wearing things I’ve picked out for you. I want to send you things that make you smile. I like buying you stuff you weren’t expecting because it makes you light up. Because it lets you know I got it, with you in mind.”</p><p>Xiao Zhan listened to him list it all out and a smile bloomed on his face, tentative at first, widening until it was a full, beaming look by the time he finished.</p><p>“In that case, Lao Wang, how can I possibly turn your gifts down?” Xiao Zhan said. He bit his lip over a grin.</p><p>Yibo responded with a decisive nod. “I’m glad we’ve got that settled, then.”</p><p>They grinned at each other. Yibo ducked his head and returned his attention to his noodles.</p><p>After a few more mouthfuls, Xiao Zhan nudged him.</p><p>Yibo raised his brows and bumped his knee against Xiao Zhan’s. He made an inquiring noise, laboring to swallow his enormous bite of noodles.</p><p>“Got everything off your mind, then?” He said it with such kindness it brought a lump to Yibo’s throat.</p><p>His mouth thinned. This man was way too perceptive; at least, of Yibo. Of himself, not so much.</p><p>“I guess the last barrier was just…me,” Yibo said quietly.</p><p>Xiao Zhan set his chopsticks aside with his takeout bowl and jabbed him in the thigh. “Yibo, why would you say that?”</p><p>“My personality—” Yibo began.</p><p>“I like your personality,” Xiao Zhan said. He poked Yibo again, and Yibo made a noise and batted at his fingers. “I don’t go into a relationship expecting to change someone, Yibo. I like who you are.”</p><p>“Thank you?” Yibo said with a blink.</p><p>“You’re smart, funny, and thoughtful. You like a lot of the same food and shows that I do,” Xiao Zhan began, taking hold of his thigh and flexing with each new point that he made. “You have the same kind of weird sense of humor I do.”</p><p>“I might be a sex fiend,” Yibo said, turning solemn eyes on him.</p><p>Xiao Zhan gave him the most flirty look he’d ever seen from him, coy eyes over a bitten lip. “Oh, is that a promise?”</p><p>Yibo was sure the breath had been knocked out of him. “Zhan-ge!”</p><p>“Yibo,” Xiao Zhan returned, caressing his thigh. “I want to be your boyfriend. It’s okay if your work takes you away from time to time. I’ll have work, too—more than I can handle at the moment, thanks to the publicity you’ve given me.”</p><p>Was it that easy? Yibo tipped his head to one side.</p><p>“If…if you want,” Xiao Zhan said, looking decidedly less sure of himself.</p><p>Yibo covered his hand with his own. “I want that,” he assured him. “My friend Seungyoun told me once that I move too fast, and it scares people off. I only wanted to make sure I didn’t do that with you.”</p><p>The flirty look made a reappearance, and Xiao Zhan sidled closer to him on the couch. “It’s not too fast if I’m going at the same pace, is it?”</p><p>Yibo licked at his lip. <i>Oh</i>, he thought, in a dazed realization. It really was going to be that easy. It wasn’t too fast as long as the person he wanted was just as into him.</p><p>He set his own noodles aside and slid his arm around Xiao Zhan, who flowed up against him and gazed at him from short range with heavy-lidded eyes. “Not too fast at all,” he murmured, nudging in to close the last distance between them to connect their mouths in a kiss.</p><p>The heat flared up between them again, just as fast as it had the other day. Xiao Zhan pushed his face up against his with a quiet, pleased sound. Their noses bumped, knocking their mouths askew, and Yibo chuckled but caught Xiao Zhan’s lips with his in the next second, smothering his answering laugh between them and kissing him again.</p><p>They settled into the kiss, their lips fitting together. Within Yibo’s heart, it was like a key fitting to a lock, turning over. It was right, with this one person. It wasn’t too soon, because Xiao Zhan wanted this—wanted him—too. At first, they stayed in the boundary of the warm drag of their lips together, pressing and shaping the direction of each kiss. Xiao Zhan’s mouth parted under his, and Yibo slid his tongue, unthinking, inside.</p><p>That only got Xiao Zhan to press closer to him, and Yibo tried to get his other arm around him, bringing his hand up to touch Xiao Zhan’s neck with light fingers.</p><p>Xiao Zhan muttered something against his lips and climbed into his lap, slinging one long thigh across his and putting his arms around his neck.</p><p>“Now who’s moving fast?” Yibo teased him, settling his hands on Xiao Zhan’s hips.</p><p>Xiao Zhan stuck his tongue out and Yibo darted in, nipping it between his lips. That earned him a gasp, but he leaned in as Yibo tightened his arms around him and they found their rhythm again. It was a revelation to simply kiss, to sink into one another and allow themselves the time explore one another’s mouths.</p><p>Yibo couldn’t remember the last time he’d sat around making out with someone. Just the two of them, kissing, nowhere in particular to be, no urgency chasing them forward, and Yibo was happy to see where their kissing took them rather than pursuing any end goal. He would be happy if they kissed for the rest of the night.</p><p>When Xiao Zhan shifted forward into his lap, he brushed against Yibo’s groin and made a small noise, sitting back and breaking the kiss. “Sorry,” he whispered. He nudged his nose against Yibo’s.</p><p>“For what?” Yibo asked. He set his hand on Xiao Zhan’s thigh. “Boyfriend privileges?” He moved his head back enough to check out Xiao Zhan’s expression. That declaration felt faster than feeling evidence that he was hard; they were both hard.</p><p>Xiao Zhan chuckled. “Yes, Yibo, you’re my boyfriend now.”</p><p>Yibo had to bite his lip over a triumphant grin. Xiao Zhan laughed again and moved forward, tipping his head enough to take Yibo’s mouth again. Deciding to keep him there, Yibo relocated his hand from thigh to the back of Xiao Zhan’s neck, cupping him into the kiss.</p><p>He truly would have been happy just making out, but when Xiao Zhan slid forward again, this time he didn’t brush against his groin and jerk away. He pressed the bulge in his jeans against the hard ridge at the front of Yibo’s slacks, and they both moaned.</p><p>“You want to…” Xiao Zhan said at the corner of his mouth.</p><p>“Yes,” Yibo said; whatever the question was, his answer would be yes.</p><p>Xiao Zhan kissed the corner of his mouth, his smile curving against Yibo’s cheek. He smelled clean and good, the faint kind of scent that had been sprayed on his shirt rather than directly on him, but the warmth of his skin made it rise in a subtle wave. It filled his senses; Yibo closed his eyes for a second as Xiao Zhan kissed down toward his jaw.</p><p>“You don’t even know what’s on offer,” Xiao Zhan chided. He drew back enough to look at him, but their groins remained pressed together.</p><p>Yibo was enjoying it way too much. With some grinding and kissing, he could probably even come this way.</p><p>“I’m up for anything you want,” Yibo murmured.</p><p>“Now I see what you mean by moving too fast,” Xiao Zhan said. He kissed Yibo’s lower lip, nibbling until it was in his mouth, sucking on it until Yibo inhaled—almost a gasp. He pulled back, eyes wide. “Shit, I can’t leave marks, can I?”</p><p>“It’s not advisable,” Yibo said wryly. “My makeup artist would prefer if you kept it below the collar.”</p><p>Xiao Zhan grinned, the light of mischief entering his eyes, and Yibo dared to slide his hands down and around from those trim hips, cupping his ass again. “I can work with that.”</p><p>They shared another kiss, and Xiao Zhan broke off with a moan. “So, anything…” he said reflectively.</p><p>“What did you have in mind?” Yibo asked.</p><p>“I really want to suck you off,” Xiao Zhan said, making Yibo’s eyes widen. When he reached between them to cup Yibo through his slacks, Yibo couldn’t help but make an eager noise and push back. He was sure they both felt his cock flex through the fabric. “Mm-hmm, this seems promising.”</p><p>“Are you sure?” Yibo said with concern. Xiao Zhan didn’t know what he was getting into. He might suspect, but Yibo knew he was big. Maybe not porn star big, but big enough he knew it was a bit of a concern.</p><p>Xiao Zhan squinted at him. “When you said you moved fast, was it relationship-wise and not physical?”</p><p>“No, it’s both. I definitely want both,” Yibo replied. “It’s just, I, uh…”</p><p>Xiao Zhan leaned in and kissed him again. “Will this be more comfortable in the bedroom, or do you want to, right here?”</p><p>Yibo’s head thudded back against the couch. “Fuck, I can’t decide,” he complained. “It would be so hot right here. Bed might be better…wait, I get to suck you off after, right?”</p><p>Xiao Zhan rolled his bottom lip in and bit down, giving him a heavy-lidded look. “Yibo, you can do whatever you want to me, afterward.” He tilted his head. “Wait, do you have condoms?”</p><p>“Uh,” Yibo said. He grimaced. It wasn’t the sort of thing he’d needed to keep stock in.</p><p>Xiao Zhan grinned. “Anything short of that, then,” he said, dismissing that and squeezing Yibo’s shoulder. He leaned in and whispered near Yibo’s ear, “We can probably go bareback soon, if you want, though.”</p><p>Yibo’s hands flexed on Xiao Zhan’s ass even as his ears got hot so fast, he worried about blood vessels breaking.</p><p>With a chuckle, Xiao Zhan kissed his ear. “<i>That’s</i> not too fast,” he said, sounding smug.</p><p>“No, no; I’m excited about that,” Yibo agreed.</p><p>Xiao Zhan palmed him again. “Right here?” he asked, sounding about three seconds away from sliding down onto his knees then and there.</p><p>“I…yeah,” Yibo breathed, letting go of one perfect ass-cheek and reaching out to the side, groping a hand over one of the throw pillows. His living room area was carpeted, but a pillow would be a better cushion for the knees.</p><p>Xiao Zhan kissed him on the mouth again until he got Yibo’s tongue pushing back against him, then began to scoot backward. He kissed down Yibo’s torso, looking up at him after each one, and there was an impish but hot quality to the continued eye contact that made Yibo fond and horny at the same time. Was that a thing?</p><p>It was now, he decided, brushing his knuckles along Xiao Zhan’s cheek as Xiao Zhan nipped at his abs through the fabric of his shirt. Yibo’s stomach bunched out of reflex.</p><p>“Can I see?” Xiao Zhan whispered. He snagged the pillow and situated himself between Yibo’s spread legs, looking up at him. His fingers rested on the top edge of Yibo’s slacks.</p><p>“Yes—oh, sure,” Yibo replied, tugging his shirt up out of his slacks and lifting it up. As Xiao Zhan’s gaze fell on the skin he’d revealed, Yibo tensed his stomach muscles.</p><p>“Holy shit.” Xiao Zhan sounded like he choked, a little. “I’ve never seen abs like this up close.” He put a hand on them, stroking up from his belly beyond his navel. </p><p>It tickled a little, but in a way Yibo was into. The tactile feel of a hand down there made him feel like a lazy big cat getting petted.</p><p>Xiao Zhan stooped in and put his mouth beside his hand, kissing the taut skin. “I could leave a mark here?” he asked, reflective.</p><p>“Definitely,” Yibo assured him.</p><p>Before that thought went further, Xiao Zhan’s hands settled on his pants, unbuttoning and unzipping with a deft touch. He ran his fingers up along the ridge of Yibo’s cock, rubbing it firmly and making eye contact again.</p><p>Yibo held himself still. </p><p>“Big,” Xiao Zhan murmured, and Yibo relaxed a little bit. He was at least somewhat prepared, then. He finessed Yibo out of his underwear and his eyes widened. “Oh, Yibo.” It was even more of a relief he sounded gratified rather than worried.</p><p>“It’s all right?” Yibo said, letting go of his self-consciousness.</p><p>Xiao Zhan leaned in, flicking his tongue over the head of Yibo’s dick, gathering up the first few drops of pre-come where the foreskin had slid down to expose the glans. “Sweetheart, this is a wonderful present for me; trust me, it’s more than all right.”</p><p>Yibo relaxed fully back against the couch and watched Xiao Zhan start to kiss and lick his cock. He framed the side of Xiao Zhan’s jaw with a hand, but was otherwise content to let him work.</p><p>After a moment of sucking the head into his mouth and pressing it down along his tongue toward his throat, Xiao Zhan popped off, kissed the tip again, and looked up at him, eyes shining. “You really had to go and fulfill the skinny guy, big hands, big dick stereotype, didn’t you?”</p><p>“Zhan-ge,” Yibo said in a complaining tone, curling his fingers at the back of Xiao Zhan’s neck.</p><p>Xiao Zhan went down again, giggling until his mouth stretched over the tip of Yibo’s dick again.</p><p>He sucked cock like he was into it: not only enjoying being there, on his knees for Yibo, but the way his mouth drew him down, his hand stroking in counterpoint on the shaft, his other hand tugging and teasing at Yibo’s balls, showing him how fully engaged he was in the act. He was the embodiment of playful sexiness. Xiao Zhan moaned, sucked him down as far as he could, pumped down the remainder with quick eager fingers, and kept looking up at him with that sinful gaze over his hollowed-out cheeks.</p><p>It was enough to make Yibo’s stomach go taut. He was going to come if Xiao Zhan kept looking at him. It also made Yibo re-evaluate everything he’d considered true of blowjobs for the giving partner. Xiao Zhan was <i>definitely</i> enjoying himself, the way he was slurping at the head of his cock. He looked up at Yibo with heated eyes and pushed Yibo’s dick into his mouth, cheeking it. Pushing it against the side, stretching it out.</p><p>Yibo didn’t even have time to choke out a warning; his orgasm surged up in him, cock twitching, belly going hard as steel. His thighs squeezed in on Xiao Zhan and he tried to pet his neck, gasping, eyes still locked on the sight of Xiao Zhan sucking at the tip, lips stretched closed around it.</p><p>Xiao Zhan <i>really</i> looked into it.</p><p>He sat back on his heels, popping off Yibo’s cock. Their eyes met and he swallowed.</p><p>Yibo remained pliant for a few seconds, panting. That was already the best blowjob of his life, and it was the first thing they’d done together. He reached up and rubbed his thumb at the corner of Xiao Zhan’s plump red lips.</p><p>“I want to get you naked and in my bed,” Yibo rasped. There were so many things he wanted to do with Xiao Zhan. Everything, he hoped. They would have time. He smiled down into Xiao Zhan’s face and Xiao Zhan grinned back up at him.</p><p>“Yes, please,” Xiao Zhan replied. He got up, bracing himself on the couch between Yibo’s knees and climbing to his feet; holding out a hand that Yibo used to get to his feet, too.</p><p>He was a little wobbly and Xiao Zhan put an arm around his waist. Of course, at such close range, Yibo had to draw him in for another kiss. He wrinkled his nose a little, tasting himself, but probed Xiao Zhan’s mouth until all he could taste was him.</p><p>They stumbled their way through Yibo’s place, all but joined at the hip. Yibo couldn’t keep his hands off Xiao Zhan, who kept touching him too: a hand up his shirt, stroking low on his bared belly, one hand going up to grip the back of his neck.</p><p>He pushed Xiao Zhan against the frame of his door, held him there, and kissed him until Xiao Zhan was panting and pushing up against him. He was still hard, and Yibo bet he was aching with it.</p><p>“Do you want to fuck my thighs?” Yibo asked against his mouth. “Want me to suck you off? Kiss you and tug on your cock?” What he really wanted was to eat Xiao Zhan out, but that was an act that required some prior discussion and even negotiation, Yibo was aware.</p><p>His mouth watered, and he licked the mole below Xiao Zhan’s lower lip. He traveled lower, teeth grazing his chin, and Xiao Zhan shuddered in his arms.</p><p>“Ahh…ah, all of that, all of it sounds good,” Xiao Zhan replied, sounding dazed. “Please…”</p><p>“Want me to decide?” Yibo asked, dropping his tone into a slightly lower register.</p><p>“Fuck,” Xiao Zhan said, shuddering again. His dick twitched against the crease of Yibo’s groin and thigh.</p><p>“I’m going to strip you down naked, bite your pretty thighs while I have my hand on your cock, then I’m going to blow you,” Yibo told him.</p><p>“Yes,” Xiao Zhan said. “Yes, yes please…”</p><p>Yibo grinned, kissing him again. He had a feeling Xiao Zhan would be happy with anything so long as he made him come, but he was pleased to learn Xiao Zhan liked to be bossed around.</p><p>He could do that for him.</p><p>He started stripping Xiao Zhan down right there in the doorway, deciding on the spot he was also going to keep his shirt on, but nothing else. Xiao Zhan made a token effort to help, tipping his head back until his head thunked against the door frame and going slack-mouthed as Yibo got a hand on his cock, dipping his fingers down past elastic and touching him.</p><p>His eyes fluttered. Yibo kissed him again. Xiao Zhan’s mouth moved against his, pursing; Yibo chuckled and nipped his lip before moving lower. He gave Xiao Zhan’s cock a few sure-handed tugs before going back to the urgent business of removing their clothes.</p><p>His own pants were easy enough to step out of; he got his underwear off too, and tossed it into the nearby canvas hamper. Xiao Zhan’s shirt required his active cooperation, because he had to wrangle it over his head.</p><p>“Bed,” Yibo said, thumbing at Xiao Zhan’s dark, round nipples. The nubs were already perking up as he touched them. He leaned down and closed his mouth over one, biting down. Xiao Zhan hissed and his cock twitched against Yibo’s stomach.</p><p>It was a good size, not as big as Yibo’s, but bigger than average. He couldn’t wait to get a look at it. The girth of it felt good in his hand. He reached down to tug on it again and Xiao Zhan made a high-pitched noise and rolled his hips up against him.</p><p>“You said bed,” Xiao Zhan said, pushing at his shoulder. “Get this off.”</p><p>Yibo glanced down at himself. “The shirt? It stays on.”</p><p>Xiao Zhan, a grown man six years older, pulled a face and pouted at him. “Why?”</p><p>“Baby, you’ll probably come too fast if you see all this,” Yibo replied, grinning.</p><p>“Ugh, you egotistical—” He took an obvious swing at him, and Yibo caught his wrist and pulled him in. They kissed again, and Xiao Zhan made a needy sound against his mouth.</p><p>Yibo guided them over to the bed, pushing Xiao Zhan into a seated position and divesting him of the rest of his clothes, stripping his own socks off and tossing those behind him.</p><p>Xiao Zhan looked up at him, open-mouthed. “Come down here,” he said, wrapping his hand around Yibo’s. His gaze sharpened. “Boyfriend.”</p><p>Yibo groaned. That was definitely how to boss him around, he knew it already. He climbed onto the bed and pulled Xiao Zhan with him, not letting up on his insistent pressure until they were both in the middle of Yibo’s emperor-sized bed. At the time he’d moved in, it had seemed like way too much bed for a singleton. Now, with the two of them sprawled together in the middle, making out like teenagers, it seemed the perfect choice.</p><p>He skimmed a hand down Xiao Zhan’s body and took hold of his cock again, grinning at the way it jumped against his palm. “Gonna make you come,” Yibo informed him, kissing him once more on the lips before tracking downward.</p><p>He repeated Xiao Zhan’s journey, placing kisses on bare skin the entire way. He made allowances for a brief detour, sucking a nipple into his mouth until Xiao Zhan groaned and told him to get on with it, which made him chuckle.</p><p>“Please,” Xiao Zhan said, tugging his ear.</p><p>Yibo snickered. “I’m getting there.” He rested his chin on Xiao Zhan’s belly and they shared a grin.</p><p>“I can’t believe…” Xiao Zhan stopped and stroked his face. </p><p>“I know,” Yibo said, turning to nuzzle into it. Only that morning, this scenario had been out of reach for him.</p><p>He shifted down, and there it was: his prize, before him. Xiao Zhan’s cock rose up, proud and dusky red from a darker brown base. Yibo got his hand on it, grinning at the way his fingers enclosed it, a much lighter tan by contrast. He became fascinated moving his hand over Xiao Zhan’s cock, watching the flashes of darker, rosy skin between his fingers. He pumped it, trying out the pace he liked, looking up into Xiao Zhan’s face to watch his reactions.</p><p>Xiao Zhan tipped his head back, mouth open. “Please…”</p><p>Yibo slid down further, keeping his broad hand moving on Xiao Zhan’s cock as he moved down to get his mouth on those taut thighs. He had to make good on his promise to mark them up, after all. He laid his head against one, rubbing his cheek against the smooth skin there until Xiao Zhan shifted his hips with a restless adjustment and looked down at him.</p><p>“Yibo…” There was slight confusion in his gaze.</p><p>Satisfied he’d secured his attention, Yibo grinned, turned his head, and scraped his teeth over Xiao Zhan’s thigh. He was rewarded with a start, a surprised, sweet noise from Xiao Zhan, and the cock in his hand twitched.</p><p>“Yes…yes, bite me, suck a mark on me,” Xiao Zhan urged. </p><p>Yibo grinned up at him. “I’m going to plant a strawberry field on your thighs.”</p><p>Xiao Zhan’s head dropped back and he made a winded noise. “Yes…yes, I want you to…”</p><p>Yibo settled between his thighs and turned his head, licking and biting into the spot he’d scraped his teeth over, lightly marking. He had to remember to tug on Xiao Zhan’s cock, speeding up his fingers when Xiao Zhan tensed and writhed under him as he fastened his mouth onto the skin and muscle and sucked, hard. It earned him a soft cry and Xiao Zhan’s cock flexed in his fingers again, spurting pre-come.</p><p>That made Yibo grin around his mouthful, and it broke the seal. He licked at the pink mark he’d made, nuzzled it with his lips, and shifted over to select another spot on Xiao Zhan’s lithe thigh.</p><p>He spent a good amount of time sucking and licking, leaving his marks from mid-thigh to the join of thigh and pelvis, easing off the insistent draw of his hand whenever Xiao Zhan’s breath sped up and he seemed too close. When he was satisfied at the blooming red marks scattered across both thighs, he hitched up and got an elbow under him, beginning to work Xiao Zhan’s cock in earnest.</p><p>“You’re so gorgeous,” Yibo told him, and Xiao Zhan moaned, covering his lower face with both hands, peeking down at him with wide eyes. “What? You are.” He dipped his head down to fasten his mouth on the skin between Xiao Zhan’s cock and his hip, dragging his teeth there as he sped his hand up even faster.</p><p>“Nn…Yibo…ahh, please!” </p><p>Yibo looked up at him, watching Xiao Zhan’s head tip back in pleasure as he bit down and started to suck. He really clamped down on his mouthful, Xiao Zhan gave a stuttering cry, and Yibo sped his hand up with purpose. </p><p>Before he could push him any closer to the edge, Yibo released his suction-bite, giving it a brief kiss. He pointed Xiao Zhan’s cock right at his open lips and stroked, looking up at Xiao Zhan and taking it into his mouth.</p><p>It didn’t take long. Yibo had only bobbed down a few times, testing the limits of his throat and pushing it against his soft palate, before Xiao Zhan’s head tipped up, his hands fell away from his face, and his hips jerked under Yibo.</p><p>He came, his eyes fluttering and his mouth open, body jerking as his cock pulsed in Yibo’s mouth. In the throes of orgasm, he was beautiful, and Yibo watched him with greedy eyes, licking the veiny underside and swallowing. He had basically no gag reflex, so he figured it had to feel good. Yibo pulled off, planted a kiss on the nearby bite mark, and climbed up the length of Xiao Zhan’s body as he stroked his spent cock. He sprawled out next to Xiao Zhan, fingers teasing over the bite mark instead of his dick, and Xiao Zhan curled against him with a dazed, dreamy look.</p><p>“You’re gorgeous when you come, too,” Yibo said, grinning when Xiao Zhan whined and buried his face in Yibo’s throat.</p><p>“You can’t just say that,” Xiao Zhan complained. “I probably look stupid, half drunk and wrung out.” He lifted his flushed face to eye him with skepticism.</p><p>Yibo kissed him. “Nope. Beautiful. You’ll have to learn to deal with compliments, Zhan-ge.”</p><p>Xiao Zhan rolled his eyes, but leaned in readily enough when Yibo moved in for a kiss.</p><p>“That was not nearly everything I want to do to you tonight, by the way,” Yibo informed him, stroking down and finding a flowering bruise, pressing his thumb into it.</p><p>Xiao Zhan squirmed and hooked a leg over him, hitching their bodies close. “Good,” he replied. His grin at close range was sultry. His hand tugged at Yibo’s shirt. “Take this off.”</p><p>With a grin, Yibo tugged his shirt over his head one-handed, tossing it to the side.</p><p>It was a real pleasure to find out how forward Xiao Zhan was in private; how uninhibited. Yibo liked him even more. He caressed up Xiao Zhan’s side and pulled him into a slow, lazy kiss. “You get to pick what we do next,” he offered. That prompted a thought. “Unless you really do get off on being bossed around, in which case, I’m deciding everything.”</p><p>Xiao Zhan rolled his eyes and kissed his chin. “Thigh fucking,” he said without hesitation, tightening his leg over Yibo.</p><p>“Oh,” Yibo said. “Good choice.” He grinned. It would allow maximum kissing while they got each other off. That was a good thing, because he found himself craving the intimacy of Xiao Zhan’s kisses.</p><p>“And I’m going to bite those abs,” Xiao Zhan informed him, snapping his teeth in a way that was probably meant to be a little intimidating, but Yibo only found adorable.</p><p>“Did you mean it, what you said earlier?” Yibo asked, pulling Xiao Zhan atop his body. Their legs twined and Xiao Zhan propped himself on Yibo’s chest, kissing his chin.</p><p>“Hmm?” Xiao Zhan’s eyes creased in a happy smile. “I said a lot of things; I’m sure I meant all of them.”</p><p>Yibo huffed. His ears had to be flaming. “About going without condoms.”</p><p>Xiao Zhan’s grin widened and he dropped another kiss on his mouth. “The way I see it, love, we’re only a clean test for each of us away from going bareback, and that’s easy enough to remedy.”</p><p>“Yeah,” Yibo said, stroking down Xiao Zhan’s lower back. Just because the results were a foregone conclusion didn’t mean they should jump the gun. Besides, he wanted to get his mouth on that lovely cock. There were so many things to do.</p><p>And they were going to do all of them, Yibo exulted. He stretched up to dot a kiss on Xiao Zhan’s nose, and Xiao Zhan laughed and nestled atop him and framed his face with his arms, settling in for the first of many more kisses.</p>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>***</p>
</div>Their date turned into an impromptu overnight; Xiao Zhan knew he shouldn’t as Yibo caught at his hand and uttered a soft “stay,” but he couldn’t say no to that face, those pleading eyes, that pouty mouth, even with his brain working overtime reminding him of all the catch-up work he had to do the next day. So he did what his heart urged, leaned in and took Yibo’s mouth, and they made out a little more before they got up and went to get clean in the bathroom before bed.<p>He was allowed a life, and Yibo—his brand-new boyfriend—wanted him to stay. And so, Xiao Zhan stayed.</p><p>The next day he did have to haul ass to get back to his place, feed a very angry Jianguo and try to win her favor back, and ready himself for work. She had several dry food toy dispensers she could play with to get food whenever she was willing to work for it, but she was used to her twice-daily partial tins of wet food and she let him know her opinions, turning her back on him before he left for the day.</p><p>He reached the office humming and stopped by Xuan Lu’s desk. She looked up at him with a quizzical tilt to her head.</p><p>“I haven’t heard you so happy in the morning since we started at the old firm,” she commented.</p><p>“Hm, what?” Xiao Zhan responded, distracted. He’d just remembered it was a song that Yibo had been singing in the shower last night, and he’d joined along.</p><p>“Zhanzhan,” Xuan Lu began, narrowing her eyes.</p><p>“Any luck on the executive assistant?” Xiao Zhan asked.</p><p>“I don’t know, any luck on the boyfriend front?” Xuan Lu shot back.</p><p>Xiao Zhan gasped in mock indignation, drawing a hand to his throat. “Lulu! We are at <i>work</i>.”</p><p>“It’s related to work,” Xuan Lu deadpanned. “If you’re still dating him, we’re going to get a lot more of those gawkers flooding the firm’s inbox.”</p><p>“Ah, true, true.” Xiao Zhan put a hand to his chin, becoming the image of a very serious person. “Well, we should have drinks with Ji Li and Zhuocheng tonight, they’ll want to hear it, too.”</p><p>“You’re dating?” Xuan Lu exclaimed, reading it off his face.</p><p>Xiao Zhan grinned. “This is why I can never win at poker,” he said in a complaining tone. “Yes…it’s official, Lulu. Wang Yibo and I are dating.”</p><p>Words he hadn’t thought he would be able to say.</p><p>He’d gotten the boyfriend upgrade, despite his best efforts at self-sabotage, and he had every intention to make sure they kept up clear and honest communication from now on.</p><p>Xiao Zhan was the loyal type, and when someone secured his affections, he’d do his best to make sure they would last.</p>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>***</p>
</div>“Yibo! Wang Yibo! Look over here!”<p>Yibo gave a half-turn, keeping his hand atop Xiao Zhan’s where it was gripping his bicep. He put on his neutral but vaguely inquisitive face.</p><p>Another round of flash bulbs went off, and yet again Yibo wished he could wear sunglasses on the red carpet. He gave them a brief smile and a nod.</p><p>“It’s good to see Xiao Zhan back with you!” called out one of the reporters. Yibo thought he recognized her—she was on the younger side and never asked him the rude structured questions, going out of her way to ask him things that actually made him think and put together a proper answer.</p><p>It was probably something of a risk for her; entertainment press tended to stick to a rigid format. It made Yibo appreciate her efforts all the more.</p><p>Yibo inclined his head. “We had a schedule mix-up,” he offered to her. It was the simplest explanation he and Xiao Zhan had decided upon to cover for his absence at the previous event. If one looked at it a certain way, it was even true.</p><p>“Why not a substitute date for the night?” one of the other reporters was bold enough to ask.</p><p>Yibo went stiff, while doing his best not to reflect his emotion on his face. He didn’t have a good answer, and any reporter worth their salt would sense that weakness. It was a pretty common practice to tap one’s social network if an established date couldn’t make it. The fact that he hadn’t done so implied a weakness in Yibo’s standing, that he had no one willing to offer even on short notice.</p><p>“Ah, that’s my fault,” Xiao Zhan said, squeezing Yibo’s arm and leaning in with a pleasant smile. “I warned him when we got together, I wouldn’t tolerate anyone else. I didn’t expect him to take me so seriously!”</p><p>No one was uncouth enough to bring up the penalty Yibo incurred from his management for not having a date, and he was grateful for that.</p><p>“If it’s not Zhan-ge, I won’t accept a substitute,” Yibo declared, looking at Xiao Zhan. He was strongly tempted to kiss the corner of his mouth where it had a sweet, subtle upward curve, but he wasn’t in the mood to give the photographers that kind of spectacle. </p><p>“No one is as beautiful as my man,” he said lower, so that it wouldn’t project too far, but Xiao Zhan’s neck went red and he turned to give Yibo a <i>look</i>.</p><p>It was useless as a curbing influence; that look only reminded Yibo of what they’d been doing earlier in the afternoon, with Xiao Zhan declaring they didn’t have enough time, and Yibo stating with confidence that they had just enough. Then he’d taken both of Xiao Zhan’s wrists in his hands, backed him up onto the bed, and gotten enough lube onto his cock to press into Xiao Zhan where he was still slick and loose enough from earlier.</p><p>“Glad you could make this event, too—does this mean we’ll be seeing a lot more of you?” Yibo’s favorite reporter asked.</p><p>Xiao Zhan turned his charming grin on them. “I plan to make sure I’m by Yibo’s side, from now on.”</p><p>More flashes popped, and Yibo guided them back onto their path up the red carpet. Once they were inside the venue, Yibo’s manager hurried toward them, all but glowing.</p><p>“Brilliant, you two are the best-looking couple here,” she praised them. “Xiao Zhan—very good response, thank you! You’ve saved us a lot of trouble with that one.”</p><p>“Really? I was worried it would make me look too…” He trailed off, tugging at the back of his hair. He made an apologetic face at Yibo. “Demanding?”</p><p>“It’s actually perfect,” Yibo’s manager replied. “It takes the pressure and blame off Yibo, and if the two of you proclaim you’re devoted to that extent, it might start a trend of people declaring they’re too attached to their partners to bring a substitute.”</p><p>Yibo’s eyes widened. He hadn’t thought of that.</p><p>“Which is a good thing,” Yibo’s manager continued. “This industry is too obsessed with making sure stars come across as dateable. Though, the escort agencies might complain.” She laughed.</p><p>Yibo very carefully did not look at Xiao Zhan. He hadn’t told his manager that he’d found Xiao Zhan through a sugar dating app, and he wasn’t about to, now that they were together for real.</p><p>“Either way, I don’t intend for it to be an issue again,” Xiao Zhan assured her, leaning into Yibo’s arm. “We really did get our wires crossed, it’s my fault. I’ll make it up to him.”</p><p>“You already have,” Yibo replied in a murmur near Xiao Zhan’s ear. “But you can make it up to me again later, if you want; I won’t complain.”</p><p>Xiao Zhan ducked his head and a giggle escaped him. “What’s the objective for tonight?” he asked Yibo’s manager.</p><p>“Have fun,” she replied. “Make sure Yibo plays nice.”</p><p>“Hey!” Yibo complained. “I play nice!”</p><p>She rolled her eyes at him. “You do the bare minimum, and Cheng Xiao only egged on that bad side of you that stretched to see what you could get away with. I’m happy you care about this young man’s reputation, at least. We’ve got some chance of keeping you on better behavior.” </p><p>Yibo sputtered, but Xiao Zhan simply gave him a serene smile and tugged him into step.</p><p>“Okay, we’ll see you later; remember, you have a mid-morning flight tomorrow. I’ll message you if there are any updates.” She patted his lapel and retreated with a laugh when he growled at her.</p><p>They followed a light stream of other celebrities and industry players up the hallway until they reached the enormous domed hall. It was a charity dinner, and Yibo had been told there wouldn’t be much to expect besides pictures, some fancy European-style food, and light conversation with his seatmates. Which, he was pleased to say, Xiao Zhan would be present to help him with.</p><p>Most of the room was involved in various conversations as the hall filled up. Yibo guided Xiao Zhan over to a conversation with his friends and mentors, Wang Han and Da Zhangwei, and took refuge in introducing his boyfriend to his co-hosts and letting them engage in lively conversation that tied them up until the chime for seating pealed out.</p><p>“We’ll talk more later,” Wang Han assured Xiao Zhan. “Make sure to have Yibo bring you by the studio some time! We’d love to have you.”</p><p>“Yes, we haven’t even gotten into Yibo’s top five most embarrassing moments with a guest,” Da Zhangwei added, making Yibo groan and half cover his face.</p><p>“Please, mercy,” Yibo complained.</p><p>“I think that’s what one of them said!” Da Zhangwei replied with a parting snicker.</p><p>Yibo took Xiao Zhan’s hand and tugged him onward in the search for their table, ears burning as Xiao Zhan’s amused chuckle reached him.</p><p>“Oh, no,” Yibo said, as he spotted the person beside the placard bearing his name, and Xiao Zhan’s in the other empty seat beside it.</p><p>“Ah, Yixing!” Xiao Zhan greeted the musician with a cheerful wave.</p><p>“You call him Yixing?” Yibo said incredulously.</p><p>“I can’t call a man by his name now?” Xiao Zhan snarked back at him as they slid into their seats together.</p><p>“That’s not what I’m saying, but it seems kind of close for a guy you met for five minutes—” Yibo objected.</p><p>“Come on, now,” Yixing said. “Are you going to be rude to your friend and not even say hi?”</p><p>Yibo glanced at him. “Are we friends?”</p><p>Yixing gasped and held a hand over his heart. That same young woman was beside him, in a navy cocktail dress this time, and gave the two of them a polite smile. “So it’s like this? You know a guy for this long, you want only the best for him, then discover how he really feels about you.”</p><p>“Don’t take it personally, Yixing,” Xiao Zhan leaned forward to say, patting Yibo’s hand in a placating manner as he did so. “Yibo has a hard time recognizing what’s in front of him, sometimes.” He flicked a sly glance Yibo’s way.</p><p>Yibo’s mouth dropped open in outrage. “Zhan-ge!”</p><p>Both Xiao Zhan and Yixing chuckled.</p><p>“You were a little mean to me, though, when you saw me at that red carpet event alone, ge,” Yibo said, pointed, to Yixing, whose eyes crinkled as he smiled.</p><p>“Just wanted to see if you were serious; and if so, that you’d let him slip through your fingers for no reason,” Yixing replied. His expression gentled. “I’m really pleased to see everything worked out.”</p><p>“It did,” Xiao Zhan said firmly. “It was a misunderstanding on both our parts, and no one’s holding any grudges.” He turned his head and shared a smile with Yibo.</p><p>Yibo nodded. “As for letting him slip through my fingers again…that’s not going to happen.”</p><p>“Good to hear. Really, I’m happy for you both,” Yixing proclaimed.</p><p>Yibo held Xiao Zhan’s hand in plain sight, settled back into his seat, and prepared himself to enjoy a low-key evening. Yixing was a good guy, after all.</p><p>As for Yibo’s own plans to make sure he never let Xiao Zhan go, although he was sure it had to be too soon now, he had a reminder for himself scheduled a year out for their anniversary date. It wasn’t too soon to schedule a proposal dinner.</p><p>He knew they were going to last.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thank you, everyone, for sticking with me through this story! I had an extremely difficult week this past week, and your wonderful comments and support meant a lot to me.</p><p>I know this isn't a bona fide sugar baby story, but this was how it turned out, in the end; working with my beta, I added a number of touches to improve the overall effect but the crux of it was they were bad at sugar dating here. They had to break that off and become boyfriends without the app getting between them.</p><p>Next up, at some point, I'll get to start posting Dragonbo in the near-ish future (I hope)!</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>all of the thanks due to xelloss_poo for the tireless job of comma wrangling and beta-reading stories about two dumb boys! Also, thank you raspberryrey for giving it a read-through after I made changes!</p><p>If you liked it, this is retweetable [<a href="https://twitter.com/bounddreamer/status/1340517106773753856?s=20">here</a>]! </p><p>You can find me on Twitter at <a href="https://twitter.com/bounddreamer">@bounddreamer</a> where I like to post pics of these boys, my cats, food, and talk about all of the above plus video games. WangXian (and YiZhan) thirst hours are 24/7.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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